Islands and Emos
by Jediempress
Summary: CloudRiku, LeonSora. Cloud and Leon visit Riku and Sora on Destiny Islands. Yaoi. Different scenario than my other stories. LAST CHAPTER UP.
1. Chapter 1

Guess what, everyone. Despite what anyone says, I don't own these people. Really. I was shocked also.

Islands and Emos don't Mix

"Riku! Riku! Riku!" Sora was literally bouncing. "Guess what?"

"Cloud and Leon are coming to visit."

Sora froze and frowned deeply. "How did you know?"

"I do talk to Cloud on occasion. I don't feel the need to phone stalk my boyfriend."

"I don't phone stalk him!" Sora pouted. "Leon likes when I call."

"I'm sure he does." Riku kept sketching. Long pencil strokes covered the paper. He still wasn't sure what he was drawing but he usually didn't until it was done. He just let his hand do what it wanted.

"So you probably know all the details already."

"Actually, no. They hadn't worked those out yet. There's a date now?"

"Yeah. In ten days." Sora grinned widely. "This is gonna be great. I told Mom already and she'd totally psyched."

"Psyched?" Riku chuckled. "There's a word no one uses any more."

"Whatever. They're gonna be here for two weeks. Leon doesn't sound too happy about it but I guess Cid swore that he'd keep things going." Sora flopped down on Riku's sofa. "I really can't believe they're coming!"

"Yeah, Kairi's gonna have a field day."

Sora lifted his head. "Do we have to tell her?"

"Yes." Riku laughed. "I'd be more concerned with Selphie."

"Oh, man! I didn't even think of that." Sora groaned.

"And don't forget Kairi's the only one who knows about you and Leon." Riku smirked. "I recommend telling them before they get here."

"I don't wanna."

"So you plan on giving Leon the cold shoulder whenever you're in public? He'll like that after everything he's gone through for you." Riku put the pencil behind his ear and looked over his sketch. Some how he wasn't surprised by it.

"No, I'll tell them." Sora sighed. "But I'm gonna make you help me."

"Why? Because they've already accepted my relationship?"

"Uh, no." Sora rubbed his forehead. "Well, kinda. Mostly cause I know he won't let me wuss out."

He smiled over from his spot on the window seat. "I guess I can't argue with that."

"So whatcha draw this time?" Sora sat up. He really liked Riku's art. It was yet another thing he was jealous of his best friend for.

"Humm? Oh. It's nothing, really." Riku was suddenly acting rather shy.

Sora tilted his head. "I wanna see."

"It's not very good, Sora."

"Man, come on. You say that about all of them." Sora held out his hand. "Now let me see."

Riku sighed. He knew if he didn't simply let Sora see it, he'd find a way to take it. It really wasn't worth fighting over. Besides, Sora wouldn't tease him too much. Or so he hoped.

He reluctantly hand the sketchbook over.

Sora took it eagerly and studied the image intently. After a minute, he looked at Riku with a large grin. "You are so the sap."

"I am not." He moved to take back the book.

"Oh, yes you are." Sora laughed. "I thought you thought the whole thing was hokey."

"I do," He protested. His voice cracked a bit.

Sora suddenly got serious. "You're really considering it, aren't you?"

Riku shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, look at all the strange things we've seen and been through. Maybe the old legend's true."

The smaller boy stared at him before a small grin lit his face. "You really are a hopeless romantic at heart."

"Maybe." Riku took the book from Sora and looked over the image again. He couldn't help the upward twitching of his lip. It was such a silly idea but for whatever reason he really wanted to do it.

He looked at Sora sternly. "Don't you dare tell anyone about this. I do have a rep to maintain."

"Oh don't worry." Sora stood, stretching. "I won't tell anyone about your papou fruit."

"Not even Leon."

"Oh, come on." Sora pouted.

"No, Sora. Especially not him."

"Fine." Sora sighed.

Riku grinned. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Just come with me when I tell Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka that I've got a boyfriend."

"Oh you know I would have anyway." Riku shut the drawing pad and set in on the sill. "Maybe we can finally get Tidus and Wakka to tell us what they're hiding."

"Doubt it."

"Let's get dinner before it storms." Riku searched his pockets and pulled out a wad of munny. "There's nothing here."

"Okay, Mom's not making anything."

"It's still weird that you have your own house already." Sora commented as they walked out and Riku locked the door. "Of course, how you got it sucks but still."

"Yeah." Riku's parents had died in a freakish ferry boat accident almost a year prior. It had been not even a month after their return from the World that Never Was. Riku had been messed up for a while but he was now slowly getting his life back in order. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Something different! Notes on the bottom! So for those who care, this is obviously a very different scenario than my other stuff. No Sephiroth in this one, yes I surprised myself on that one. Some things will be the same but for the most part this is a completely different timeline.

I have to dedicate this entire thing to ChibiFrubaGirl who has been hinting at me to write this and Page of Cups because she's just totally awesome like that. (Plus I feel a little guilty. You know why, girlie.) Both of you are wonderful and I totally love you.

Thank you, everyone who reads my stories, even the not so hot ones, and those who review and those who don't. Please, please, please feel free to point out flaws and offer ideas. I'm really an approachable person.


	2. Chapter 2

"Do I really have to do this, Riku? I mean, no one picks on you cause, well, you're you. I'm still the scrawny kid who everyone teases even though I saved the worlds but no one knows it." Sora sighed.

"Yes, you have to do it and the only reason we pick on you is because it's so easy." Riku explained patiently. He pushed up his sunglasses to rest at his hairline. "And Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie know what you did."

"Yeah." Sora rubbed his neck. "They here yet?"

"I don't see them but they could be inside. Tidus does have a key." Riku commented as they turned up the walk to the front of his house.

"I still don't get why you gave him one."

"Because I trust him and someone other than you, I and your mom should have one." He paused and listened. "Yeah, they're here trashing the place."

He threw open the door and darted in. "All right, punks! Party's over!"

"Aww, man! Busted." Their blonde friend snapped his fingers. "Now I have to cancel the keg."

"Oh don't do that." Riku protested. "Getting plastered sounds like fun."

"Tidus talks big but he's too much a goody-goody, ya." Wakka chuckled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tidus snapped.

"One word, Auron."

Tidus frowned. "Oh, yeah."

"Auron?" Sora suddenly perked up. "I know a guy named Auron. He was kinda creepy but a really good fighter."

"Huh." Tidus and Wakka glanced at each other.

Selphie came running in from the kitchen then. "Oh my gosh, Riku! You have like no food here!"

"Yeah I know. I keep meaning to go shopping but it never happens." He shrugged. "Not that it really matters. I'm always at Sora's anyway."

"Mon, if my mom cooked like that I'd be bigger than a house, ya." Wakka laughed.

"Sooo," Selphie clasped her hands before her and leaned forward. "Why'd you ask for all of us to come over, Riku? I bet it's something big."

"I guess it is." Riku shrugged indifferently. "But its Sora's thing not mine."

He settled himself in the window seat and smirked at Sora. The brunette in turn glared at him as if he'd just been sacrificed to Sephiroth. Considering the similarities between Riku and Riku's boyfriend's crazy stalker, that may not have been too off base.

"And where's Kairi?" Tidus frowned. "If this is about Sora, shouldn't she be here, too?"

"She already knows. Sora told her first." Riku folded his arms and leaned back in the window. "He told her before telling me."

"Wow." Tidus's eyes widened with surprise. "Sora tells you everything first."

"Hey! I'm right here!"

"Any one want carry-out?" Riku ignored Sora's loud protest. "I feel like pizza."

"Sure." Tidus and Wakka shrugged. Selphie nodded. Sora simply pouted at him.

"Oh, calm down Sora." Riku chuckled, pulling out his phone. "Once I finish ordering, I'll set you up for your turn."

Sora waited anxiously as Riku ordered enough pizza for them to be having a party. Then again, between Sora, Tidus, and Wakka they could eat the amount of a small party. At least, under normal circumstances Sora could. Right now he doubted he could eat anything.

"All right." Riku dropped his phone beside him. "Now, first thing's first. Cloud and Leon are coming to visit."

Selphie bounced. "Oh my gosh, really? Oh wow! That's so great! That's gonna be awesome. Oh I bet you and Cloud will be so cute together."

Tidus and Wakka were a bit less enthusiastic about it. "That's cool, man."

Tidus's smile looked fake. "Yeah. Way cool."

Riku noted his reaction but moved on. "Yeah, they'll be here in a week."

"How come they get to come here?" Tidus seemed a bit troubled. "I mean, aren't there rules about traveling the worlds?"

"Yeah," Sora answered. "But since we're such a minor world, it isn't as big of an issue. And Radiant Garden is a core world so they haven't forgotten anything."

"Oh." Wakka gave Tidus a quick look which the blonde sort of waved off. "So what's that got to do with Sora?"

Riku raised an eye at his best friend, indicating this was where he took over the conversation. Sora bit his lip. "Uh, well, you see it's kinda like this… uh…"

"Oh just spit it out, Sora!" Selphie was nearly beside herself waiting.

"Leon'smyboyfriend."

"What?" All three asked.

Sora took a deep breath. "Leon is my… boyfriend."

There was a moment of silence. Tidus and Wakka stared open mouthed. Obviously they had no indication at all that Sora was even remotely gay.

Selphie jumped once with a giggle. "Oh, that's so adorable! This is sooo great! How long have you been together? Have you slept with him yet? Come on, give me details."

"Quiet, Selphie." Riku ordered. Being firm was about the only way to shut her up. That or giving her what she wanted and he doubted Sora was up for that. He didn't even give her details.

Sora was looking nervous, waiting for the other two boys' reaction. Riku sympathized. He'd been nervous telling the others that he was gay but they had only laughed and said they figured that. While Sora had the bonus of not being the first one they heard this from, he was likely to be a total shock.

After all, everyone figured he and Kairi were destined.

"Whoa." Wakka breathed. "Was not expectin' that, man."

"Uh, neither was I," Sora agreed nervously. "It just kinda happened."

"So, uh, how long…?"

"Three months."

There was a knocking at the door and Riku slid off the sill. "Finally."

They stopped talking while Riku paid the guy and carefully balanced three extra large pizzas on one hand. "A little help here anyone."

Sora and Tidus both moved in. They glanced at each other a brief moment before taking the boxes from the second oldest of the group. Setting them on the coffee table, Wakka immediately began digging into them.

"Okay, so Sora's got a boy toy." Tidus suddenly smirked. "You sure you're not just trying to be like Riku still?"

"Uh, yeah." Sora sat on the floor. "I stopped wanting to be like Riku a long time ago." He glanced back up. "No offense, Ku."

"None taken." Well, maybe there was a little but he wasn't about to let on to it now. He had fucked things up rather royally.

"So what's Leon like?" Selphie asked dreamily. "Is he like, totally hot like Cloud?"

Sora blushed. He really didn't want to talk about Leon like this. "I guess, yeah but he doesn't look like Cloud. He's got shoulder length hair that's like sable colored. And these steel grey eyes that just see everything."

"And he's totally into leather." Riku jumped in, leaning over Sora for a slice of pizza.

"Really?" Selphie's eyes widened.

"So he's a whips and chains type, ya?" Wakka smirked. There was a peculiar tone of wistfulness to his voice. "I can handle that, ya."

Tidus snickered. "Yeah, you and your belt fetish."

"What?" Riku raised an eye as Sora and Selphie looked at the red head with interest.

"Nuttin." He waved it off shooting Tidus a glare. The blonde boy simply ate his pizza.

Riku and Sora exchanged looks. That was something to file away for later study. They could add it to the growing list of strange bits they heard from the two others.

For the next few hours, they sat around eating and drinking what was left of Riku's booze, which really wasn't much. Sora grew comfortable enough to talk a little more about Leon, much to Selphie's delight. Tidus and Wakka were completely over their shock by the end of the night.

When the others left, Sora fell back on the sofa. He sighed tiredly. "Thank goodness that's over."

"Oh, it went well and I know you loved being able to talk about Leon so openly." Riku chucked the two empty boxes in the kitchen. All the remaining pizza had been condensed into one and was already in the fridge.

"Yeah, I guess." He sat up again. "I better get home. Mom will worry."

As if on cue, his phone rang and Riku smirked at the tone. "Let me guess."

"Don't bother." Sora answered it. "Hi, Leon."

Riku shook his head as Sora headed for the door. He waved and ducked out, door falling quietly shut behind him. Sometimes he envied Sora and Leon. They got to do all the normal new relationship stuff.

He and Cloud never really got that opportunity.

He sighed and decided he'd just go to bed. He locked the door and hit the light before making his way to the stairs.

Then his phone rang and he smiled. He picked it up from the table. "Hey, Cloud."

And so part two ends. Next up, preparing for arrival. Details, details.

Any one else want me to try to make these longer and if so by how much? I usually average about four pages, should I go for six? Let me know.


	3. Chapter 3

Whoot! A little longer than usual. Go me! Any way, I need to explain again that Sora's mom is not my character. Seiya comes from the collected works of Uzumaki. I just love the character so much I'm borrowing her. If your aren't familiar with her work, you should really check it out. Very epic in style and totally fun.

As always, thanks! 

"Where are they?" Sora fidgeted.

"They'll be here, Sora. It's not nine yet." Riku explained for the third time in twenty minutes. It was rather amusing watching Sora acting all anxious. It also kept him from fidgeting himself. He was just as excited to see his boyfriend but he would never let it show.

"Why did you tell them to come so late? They could have been here by one."

"Because as far as I know, neither of them have been to a tropical environment before. Cloud's mentioned some ocean resort before but it didn't sound very much like here. It's cooler out now so they won't be overwhelmed right away."

"Oh." That was a smart idea.

Riku glanced over. "You sure you don't want to stay at the house while they're here?"

Sora bit his lip. "It just seems kinda… weird. I mean, I don't know. We haven't been together very long."

"No one said you had to have sex with him, Sora." Riku smirked at Sora's blush. "There are three bedrooms. You don't even have to sleep in the same room if you don't want to. I just think it would make things easier. Your mom's already said you should."

"My mom's just weird. I think she wants me to have sex with him." Sora shook his head. "She's all but ordered me to stay with you."

"Then you should do what your mother says." Riku grinned. "And that way, if the desire to rectify that virginity of yours comes up…"

"Okay, can we stop talking about it?" Sora flushed more.

The older one chuckled and studied the sky again. "I think that's them."

"Where?" Sora started scanning the sky. "Oh, there! That's got to be them!"

The gummi ship rapidly grew more defined as it dropped down. Riku and Sora remained on their rock on the edge of the clearing until it settled on the sandy ground. Sora stood at that point but kept beside Riku until the side door opened and Leon appeared. The moment his foot set upon the sand, Sora was running.

Riku grinned as his best friend literally tackled the tall brunette. Leon stumbled back only a step, obviously having expected something like this. Sora's arms had wrapped around his neck and he practically clung to the man. He was just able to see Leon's small smile.

Then his attention was drawn over to man who owned him heart, soul, and body. Cloud barely glanced at the two brunettes as he passed. He strolled casually up to Riku, light smirk on his face. "They'll be fucking by the end of the week."

Riku nodded. "That was my guess. Where's your stuff?"

"On the ship." Cloud reached out and yanked Riku off his perch. "I wanted both hands free for this."

Riku sighed as his blonde pulled him close, placing both hands on his face and directed it down a bit for a long drawn out kiss. He could not wait to get home tonight. For once he knew he would feel lonely in that empty house.

Meanwhile, Sora had pulled back a little from Leon and was grinning widely. "I can't believe you're here."

Leon raised an eye.

"It's just," Sora glanced away. "I've really missed you."

A finger touched his chin and lifted his face up. Grey eyes smiled at him and then Leon bent down to kiss him gently. Sora simply melted. He would never tire of this. The kiss deepened a bit and Sora tightened his hands on Leon's shoulders.

Leon pulled away and Sora actually whimpered a little. Leon chuckled from the back of his throat. He flicked his eyes over to the other couple, who were practically making out near the rock. "Please tell me we're not going to end up like them."

Sora turned. "I don't think I will ever be that comfortable in public."

Leon placed his arms around Sora's slight waist. "This is about as far as I'll go with an audience."

Sora sighed contently. He was perfectly fine with that.

"It's pretty here." Leon nuzzled his ear. "Not as humid as I expected."

"It usually isn't at night." Sora mumbled. "That's why Riku had you come now."

"Ah."

Riku and Cloud had finally parted and with arms slung around one another, approached them. Riku looked over Leon. "I hope you have something other than leather pants. You'll die in those during the day."

"I'll be fine. It can't get that hot."

Riku smirked, glancing beside him. "And I suppose all you've got is your usual clothes."

Cloud shrugged. "They were fine for Costa del Sol."

Riku and Sora exchanged evil looks. Well, if those two insisted they'd be fine they weren't going to argue. They'll see how long they lasted. Riku was silently calculating how long those leather pants were going to last.

Sora moved rather reluctantly away from Leon. "We better get moving. Mom made me promise she could meet both of you tonight and it's about an hour to the main island."

Leon's lower lip twisted.

Riku and Cloud both saw it. They only felt a trace of pity for the guy. Meeting the boyfriend's parents had to be a scary thing. Cloud made a noise. "I'm so glad I'm not you."

"Oh, no." Sora caught on. "You aren't getting off easy. My mom thinks of Riku as her own. You're gonna be under just as much scrutinizing as Leon."

"What?" He glanced at Riku who was looking innocently away. "You never said anything about this."

"Uh, oops?"

Cloud clearly wanted to smack his lover on the side of the head. Leon snerked and turned Cloud by the shoulder. "Better get our bags and get this over with."

"Or we could make a run for it." The blonde suggested.

"No!" Two youthful voices called out in unison.

The men laughed as they went back into their ship. A few minutes later, they reemerged each with a bag. Cloud sealed the ship and the group walked to the row boats. Without words, Leon followed Sora to his and Cloud to Riku's. The older two threw their bags in before helping to pull off from the shore.

The teens hopped in after them. Picking up the oars, they began rowing. It was more difficult work than usual but neither minded. They just chatted with their significant others contentedly. It was probably the nicest trip to the island they ever had.

At the dock, Riku and Sora leapt out with ropes to tie off the boats. Once finished, they held out hands to pull Cloud and Leon out. There were very few people still out as they began the walk to Sora's house. A few said hello as they went by.

The old woman who ran crab shack was locking up and saw them. She smiled widely as she turned toward them. "Well, hello you two."

"Hi, Josephine."

"Who are your friends there?" She looked over the two men with an appraising eye. They were rather exotic looking compared to most islanders.

"This is Cloud and Leon." Riku answered smoothly, draping an arm over Cloud's shoulders. "They're visiting for a while."

She winked at him. "Oh, I see. Well come by tomorrow night. I'll fix you boys up really good."

"Thanks, Josie." Riku grinned.

She bid them good night and left in the opposite direction. Sora stared at Riku. "What was that about?"

"Oh, relax, Sora. Josephine's cool." Riku waved, dropping his arm from Cloud. "You know that."

Cloud and Leon glanced at each other knowingly. They had realized before coming here that it was very likely that same sex relationships would not be openly accepted. They had decided it was still worth coming to see where the one's they loved came from.

They began walking again, this time a bit more subdued. At least the boys were. The older set still felt like they were marching to their doom. They didn't know it but both were thinking how they'd rather face Sephiroth than what was coming.

They turned onto a residential street, most of the houses looking the same only different colors. Each one had about five steps up to the front door, the house itself raised off the ground. Only a few had a second story but even those looked tiny.

Sora glanced nervously as they slowed down in front of a pale coral two story. "So, uh, this is my house. Sorry it's so small."

"Why are you sorry?" Leon fingered one of his spikes. "It's nice looking."

"My mom's house was about this size." Cloud commented.

"Come on, we better get up there before-" A light outside flicked on. "Damn."

The door flew open and a petite woman appeared. It was difficult to really make out her features in the faint light but her waist length brown hair fell over one shoulder in a thick braid. "Why are you standing out there? I swear if the neighbor's come over tomorrow complaining about my delinquent son again, you'll be grounded from Riku's house the entire time Leon's here and I know you won't like that."

Sora groaned. "Geez, Mom."

"Come on." There was laughter in her voice. "I want to see my future in-laws."

Riku glanced at Cloud apologetically. Cloud looked clearly panicked. A quick check on Leon revealed a nervous twitch on the left side of his face. They both wanted to bolt.

Sora took Leon's hand and led him up the walk. Riku followed suit. Seiya moved out of the way and into the main room. Once everyone was in and the door was shut, she stood to the side and motioned for them to spread out.

She crossed her arms and ran a critical blue eye over first Cloud, then Leon. "If that's the only type of clothing you have, you'll be dying by tomorrow afternoon."

Neither replied and suddenly she giggled. "Then again, maybe you're not planning on wearing too many clothes on this trip."

"Oh, man." Sora turned in embarrassment. "What did I tell you about that, Mom?"

"I know, sweetie." She ruffled his spiked hair affectionately. "You're still embarrassed about the whole boyfriend thing. I don't know why. You know I'm totally cool with it. Riku's not at all shy talking about sex and you shouldn't be either."

This time, not only did Sora turn red but Cloud was blushing. He gave Riku a look which both Riku and Sora's mom laughed at.

Riku, still chuckling a bit nodded his head toward the woman. "This is Seiya, Sora's mom and practically mine." He motioned in the opposite direction. "Cloud and Leon."

Both men nodded, clearly uncertain about what they should be doing. Seiya fixed this by stepping over and hugging each of them in turn. It was a bit comical because she was smaller than Sora and almost seemed dwarfed by them. "You two are exactly as they described you. My boys picked out some good ones."

She moved back. "Sit. I have food for you."

She quickly left through the room's only door. Sora sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry about that, guys."

Riku sat on the sofa and with a quick tug pulled Cloud on to his lap. "Don't be sorry, Sora. Your mom's awesome."

Sora fell into the only chair heavily. "She needs to stop acting so weird."

"I like her." Leon leaned on the back of Sora's chair and began rubbing at the boy's neck with one hand. Sora instantly began relaxing.

Cloud nodded. "It's very obvious she's your mother."

"Yeah, she totally looks like me." Sora breathed out.

"That's not what I meant."

Seiya returned with a tray loaded with various things. Drinks filled the corners and little sandwiches with a few cookies took up the rest. Riku shook his head. "We told you not to go overboard, Seiya."

"I didn't." She protested. "This is nothing. Now I expect each of you to eat."

No one protested.

"Wow." Leon muttered after his first bite. "This is wonderful."

"I told you guys Seiya was an amazing cook." Riku had already finished his first one. Cloud, who was still in his lap, ate quietly but nodded in agreement.

Sora simply finished his and moved on to the cookies. "Yeah, I almost never want to move out because of it."

"But you will." Seiya tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Young men need their own places, especially when they had a boyfriend as sexy as you. No one likes fooling around in their parent's house."

Sora groaned, leaning forward to drop his head in his hands. Leon only snorted and finished his food.

Once the food was finished off, she quickly took the tray away and returned. "Well, I'm glad the boys brought you here. I really wanted to meet you both."

"Like we had a choice." Sora muttered.

"You all must have other things you want to be doing." She grinned mischievously. Sora groaned again. "So I won't keep you any longer."

Riku smiled appreciatively, nudging Cloud out of his lap. "We'll be back in the morning for breakfast."

"Of course. It will be waiting." She gave Sora a hard look. "You're going with them."

"Huh?" Sora blinked.

Riku had herded Cloud and Leon toward the door. Seiya took Sora's hand and lead hi after them. From the stairs, she handed him a small bag. "I packed everything you need for tonight. Tomorrow, you'll put together a complete bag for the next two weeks."

"Mom, I-"

She cut him off with a look. "Go and _enjoy_ yourself. Live a little."

Sora's face twisted.

"Leon," Seiya looked over her son's head. "My son better not be a virgin after you leave or you and I are going to have problems."

Leon stared at her for a moment. A very faint smile tugged at his lips. "Understood."

"Good night, dears." She pushed him out the door. "Try to get some sleep, Riku."

"No promises, Seiya."


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, this is kind of an establishing bit. The fun begins in the next chap.

This will be fun.

The walk to Riku's house was nearly silent. Riku and Cloud took the lead with Leon and Sora several feet back. Leon had his hands in his pockets and Sora had his behind his head.

Finally, Sora glanced over. "Look, I'm really sorry about my mom."

"Why?"

"She's just weird about things. She acts more like a teenager than I do." Sora frowned a little.

Leon looked down at him. He knew exactly what Sora was getting at. "Look, Sora. I told you before, you don't have to do anything you don't want."

Sora bit his lip.

Leon draped his arm around those narrow shoulders. "I'm happy just being with you. There's more to a relationship than sex."

"Wouldn't know it looking at those two."

He looked ahead to see Riku's hand in Cloud's far back pocket. They were trying their damnest to make out and walk at the same time. He rolled his eyes. "Those two are freaks."

Sora giggled, moving a bit closer to the taller man. "I think it's kinda cool. I mean, they really love each other."

"I suppose."

Riku moved away from Cloud but his hand remained in his pocket. He spoke over his shoulder. "What are you two doing back there?"

"Talking about you." Sora snickered.

"Oh you know watching us is a total turn on." He turned up the walkway. "Here we are, home sweet home. At least for the next ten days."

Riku's house was a bit larger than Sora's and he pulled out his keys. "There's three bedrooms upstairs so the two of you can do whatever you want. Sora knows the deal."

The door swung open and he flipped a light switch. Sora heard the keys hit the side table as he and Leon reached the front porch. Leon stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Sora turned and found himself being kissed hard.

Leon pulled back but didn't say anything, only going inside. Sora stood still for a moment before going in himself. Cloud and Leon were taking in their surroundings. Riku had disappeared.

Riku reappeared with four beer bottles. He started passing them out, Sora's last. Before he could decline, Riku got in his face. "Drink it."

Sora took it and sat in one of the chairs.

Riku leaned against the sofa arm. "So, what do you two want to do while you're here?"

Leon shrugged. "Haven't really thought about it. We were just happy to see you guys."

The silver haired teen awed mock sweetly. "How sweet!"

Cloud, who had seated himself by Riku shoved his leg. "Don't let it go to your head."

"Never. So that leaves things to Sora and me." Riku looked over at his best friend. "When did Kairi want to do that thing of hers?"

"Thursday."

"What thing?" Cloud frowned.

"Oh she wants to do this dinner party thing at her house." Sora explained. "She lives with the mayor so there's like all this formal stuff and they have a chef. My mom's food is still better."

Cloud did not look to keen on this idea. Riku rubbed his back reassuringly. "It won't be a big deal."

"When are we seeing Kairi?" Leon took a long drink. He wasn't happy about the dinner thing either but it wasn't worth complaining about.

"Tomorrow, along with the other three. We're all gonna meet up for lunch." Riku's fingers were tugging at one of the longer spikes of hair behind Cloud's ear. Cloud's hand had crept up to rest on Riku's upper thigh.

Leon shifted his gaze to Sora who was clearly trying not to watch this.

They all managed another five minutes of idle conversation before the waiting became too much. Riku had by this time turned so that his legs fell over Cloud's lap. He was actively running his fingers along Cloud's earlobe and the blonde was practically purring. The hand had moved even further up Riku's thigh.

"It's got to be getting late." Leon commented.

"Huh?" Riku looked over. "Yeah, actually it is. We should head up."

Cloud was on his feet before the sentence was finished. "Yeah. Long day tomorrow, right?"

"Oh absolutely." Leon smirked. "Better make sure you get lots of sleep."

"Oh, he won't." Riku grinned, tugging on Cloud's arm, pulling him toward the stairs. "See you two in the morning. Sora knows were everything is."

Once they were gone, Leon glanced at Sora. Sora bit his lip. "I'm really not all that tired."

Leon took a sit on the sofa, opposite of where Cloud had been. This put him close to Sora. "Neither are they."

Sora blushed a little.

"Come here." He held out his hand and Sora left his seat to snuggle beside Leon. "They put on a bit of a show, didn't they?"

"Yeah." Sora agreed. He wrapped a small arm around Leon's waist. "I'm really glad you're here."

"So am I."

They laid there comfortably, Leon idly playing with Sora's spikes. Sora hummed contently and tightened his hold on the man. "I really missed you. I just feel good with you."

Leon smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of Sora's head. The boy shifted and moved up along Leon's body. He studied him for a moment before bringing his lips to Leon's. It was a much firmer kiss than any of the others Sora had engaged him in.

The kiss deepened, Sora's fingers spreading across his chest. Leon gripped his hip and opened his mouth a bit, testing Sora with a quick flick of his tongue. Sora opened his own mouth, letting Leon in. They touched and tongued for several minutes.

Sora drew his head back, a bit of coloring on his cheeks and a slightly embarrassed smile. "Huh, uh… That was really nice."

Leon brushed a fallen spike from his forehead. "It was."

Sora bit his lip. It was horribly cute. "We should get some sleep."

"Yeah."

Sora climbed off him, almost gingerly. "Um, where do you wanna sleep?"

"Where ever you want me to." Leon replied. Damn that boy. Going to sleep was the last thing on his mind right now. Thankfully, he knew Sora well enough to know where he was going to end up.

He followed Sora up the stairs. Rather distinctive noises could be heard from the left. At least they were enjoying themselves.

"Thankfully Riku's room is on the opposite side of the others so we won't have to hear them all night." Sora stated. He ducking into the first room on the right. He turned on the light and ceiling fan. "I usually sleep in the other room so you can stay here. It's got a really big bed."

Leon raised an eye but Sora didn't seem to have realized the implication of his words. He only turned and smiled at him. "You get your own bathroom, too."

"Nice."

"Yeah." Sora pursed his lips. "Well, uh, night then."

"Night."

Sora quickly left, shutting the door quietly behind him. Leon stared at it for a moment. Then he sighed and tossed his bag in the corner. He made his way to the other side of the room. A long cold shower sounded really good right now.

Sunlight streamed in through the breaks in the blinds, warming bare skin. Cloud shifted, trying to squirm away from the heat of it. A light chuckling got him to open one eye.

Riku was grinning down at him, head propped on one hand. "Morning."

"Mmmm."

"The sun light's pretty warm, huh?"

"Duh, it's the sun." Cloud mumbled. Though on Radiant Garden, it usually wasn't this intense this early.

"True." Riku agreed. He placed a solid kiss on the blonde and got out of bed. He had already dressed in a sleeveless faded black shirt and navy cargo pants. "Go back to sleep if you want. It's still really early."

Cloud reached out a hand. "Stay with me."

"Normally, there'd be nothing I want more, love but there's a few things I want to get done before it gets too hellish out."

Cloud pouted.

"Aw, don't be like that." He came over and brushed the other man's face. "I swear I'll make it up to you later."

"Mmkay." He was already half asleep again.

Riku smiled and left the room. He grabbed his phone, keys and some munny and quietly left the house.

When he returned about an hour later, several handled bags in his hands, Sora was now up and listening to music while rummaging through the fridge. "Hey, Sora."

"Hey, Riku. Where were you?" Sora took out the juice.

"Shopping. They up yet?"

"Cloud's in the shower." Sora answered getting a glass. "Haven't seen Leon yet."

"When did you two go to bed?"

"About an hour after you two disappeared."

Riku studied his friend for a moment. "Why didn't you stay with him?"

Sora slowed his movement a pace. He shrugged a little pouring his juice. "I'm just not comfortable with it."

"Dude! You sleep with him every night on Radiant Garden. You never have a problem there."

"Last night was just different, ok?"

Riku smirked. "Last night, huh? So what happened?"

"Nothing." Sora returned the juice to the fridge. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Fine." Riku turned. "I'm gonna put these away. Should I wake Leon up?"

"Probably. My mom will be waiting for us."

Riku nodded and went upstairs. He had just enough time to stash the bags in the closet before Cloud entered the bedroom, toweling off his hair. The blonde was dressed in his black pants and loose knit shirt.

"Sora's calling Seiya and I'm going to wake up Leon."

Cloud tossed his towel at the hamper. "Sora wussed out, huh?"

"Yeah." Riku squeezed Cloud's hip as he walked pass. "Meet us downstairs."

The teen left and rapped on the door across the hall. "Leon, you up?"

He heard a groggy yeah, be down in minute.

Downstairs, Sora was waiting in the chair. He grinned at Riku. "They coming?"

Riku opened his mouth to make a snide comment but Sora cut him off. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah." He answered just as Cloud followed by Leon came down the stairs. Leon was in a tight grey shirt and his usual black leather pants.

Riku smiled to himself. Today was going to be interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

Bear with this chap. I know it's a bit off but, after a lengthy conversation with my sister and her personal experiences with heat and leather, next chap will be great, I promise!

I'm done moving!!!! Now I can write again.

"Hey, it's pretty nice this morning." Sora commented as they walked down the street. "Today's probably gonna be good."

"It's supposed to storm tonight." Riku put his hands in his pockets. He flicked his eyes over to Cloud. "Maybe you'll be all right today."

Cloud shrugged. He didn't seem to think there was a problem in the first place.

"Hey, Leon?" Sora had his hands behind his head. "If my mom asks you anything weird, you know you don't have to answer."

"Of course." The tall man replied evenly.

They herded up the steps and Seiya had the door open before Sora could touch the knob. "Well it's about time. I hope you boys have good reason for taking so long."

"You're lucky you're getting us at all today." Riku smirked as he passed her. "Did you make them?"

"Of course." She laughed. Riku had grabbed Cloud's hand and nearly ran to the kitchen. She quirked an eye at her son. "And you're excuse?"

"I was sleeping."

She folded her arms. "In your usual room?"

"Well yeah." Sora looked away.

She shook her head. "I give up. My son's going to be a virgin for the rest of his life."

"Mom!" Sora shouted.

A tanned arm draped itself over his shoulder and tugged at his ear. A long finger traced his cheek. "I highly doubt that, Seiya. His resistance is rather quickly failing."

Pink highlighted his face as he squirmed away. He ducked inside and took a slow breath. Yeah, he was about ready to give in. At least his body was, his brain however was still completely panicked by the idea.

Riku already had Cloud sitting at the table and was feeding him beignets. Cloud seemed to really be liking them. Or maybe it was just being feed by his lover.

"You better not have eaten them all!" Sora threatened lowly.

"There's more batter." Riku assured him, still watching Cloud.

Seiya and Leon came in and Leon seemed a bit surprised. "Beignets?"

"These are my favorite thing ever." Riku replied.

"Mine too."

"Well, good. I mixed up plenty." Seiya went to the still bubbling oil. "Sit, I'll make more."

An hour later, everyone was well feed. Seiya was clearly pleased they were all full and she hummed contently to herself as she cleaned. "What do you have planned for today?"

"Josie invited us for dinner at the shack tonight." Riku stretched his arms over his head. "And the others wanted to meet up at some point."

"Are you going to show them the play island?" There was light curiosity but both Sora and Riku caught the hint of concern behind the question.

"Uh, possibly."

Sora bit his lip. "We hadn't really decided."

The older men realized that this play island had to be an important place given each of the others reactions. A quick glance and they knew that if they did go, it was going to be an intensive experience.

There was a pounding on the back door and Sora choked on his juice. "Ugh! I told her not to come over!"

"And you expected her to listen when she knows there's hot guys here?" Seiya laughed.

The door swung open and there stood a girl in a yellow jumper with flipped up brown hair and a wide grin on his face. "Morning, everyone!"

"Hi, Selphie." Riku leaned back his head to look at her upside down.

Leon was staring at the girl as if seriously trying to figure something out. He had a look of concentration on his face and a strange tint to his steel eyes. Sora glanced between them but there was no reaction on Selphie's end. What the heck?

Selphie's attention was riveted on the blonde who was sitting beside Riku, one leg crossed over the other and an arm sling over the back of the chair. She had a hand to her mouth, as if wiping off drool. "Oh. My. Gosh. You are sooooo much sexier than your picture!"

Cloud raised an eyebrow in mild amusement.

"Wow." She stepped over and smacked Riku's shoulder. "I am so flippin' jealous! Ugh! Why are they all gay?"

"You still have Tidus." Riku chuckled obviously pleased by the girl's reaction to his boyfriend.

"Naw, he's taken." She clapped a hand to her mouth, eyes wide. Clearly she wasn't supposed to say that.

"Wait, what?" Sora folded his arms. Riku nearly mirrored the position.

"Nothing. I said nothing." She waved her hands. "Oh, he's gonna kill me."

The best friends exchanged looks. Well at least they now had their confirmation that there was indeed something up with their friend. Later they would continue their investigation but for now, they'd drop it.

"All right, Selph. We'll leave it for now but later," Riku grinned evilly.

Selphie bit her lip and nodded.

"So in case you haven't figured it out, this is Cloud." Riku pointed then moved his hand to the other present. "And that's Leon. This is Selphie."

She giggled and waved. Then she noticed Leon's odd stare. She cocked her head to the side. "You okay?"

Leon blinked, suddenly finding Sora's hand on the table fascinating. "Fine."

"You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"Something." He muttered.

Sora moved his hand over and placed it on Leon's. Steel eyes flicked in his direction. A corner of his lip turned up and relaxed his shoulders a little. Sora smiled lightly.

"Oh, you're so adorable!" Selphie gushed. "This is like, fangirl overload! We've got the dead sexy, incredibly hot pair over here and the oh-so-adorable and cute set here! I'm so not going to make it through the day!"

"Speaking of the day." Riku changed the subject before Selphie managed to say something that would embarrass even him. "Where are the others?"

"Tidus and Wakka are waiting with Kairi at the park by school." Selphie batted at a wing of hair. "I just got impatient."

That wasn't surprising. Riku stood, holding out a hand for Cloud. "We better get going then. Kairi will be dragging the others here soon."

"Yeah." Sora agreed. He also stood and Leon quickly followed.

"Last chance to change clothes." Riku glanced at Leon.

Selphie also looked him over. "Oooh, are those real leather?" She darted over and began rubbing his leg. "Oh, it is! No one wears leather here."

"There's a good reason for that." Riku snickered.

Leon stared down at her but seemed to be oddly patient with her antics. It was Sora who finally pushed her away. There was more than a hint of possessiveness in those blue eyes. "Back off, Selphie."

"Okay, okay." She laughed. She skipped toward the back door. "Moving away from the jealous boyfriend. Come on, let's go!"

She darted out the door and with a brief goodbye they followed her out. It was noticeably hotter out now and Riku, Cloud and Leon all pulled out sunglasses in near unison. Sora was a bit creeped out by it.

Selphie was a few feet ahead and kept tuning backwards to make sure they were following.

The school was six blocks away and the park on the other side of it. Cloud handled the walk perfectly fine but Leon was looking a bit pink in the face. Not to mention a little sweaty. It was only ten in the morning.

"Hey, guys!" Selphie waved ahead. "I got them!"

"No one asked you to!" Was shouted back.

Rounding the path, there was a picnic area. Kairi sat on the top of the table, legs swinging, next to a very tanned redhead. On the actual bench was a dirty blonde. The blonde was clearly trying to be cheerful when he wasn't.

Kairi slid off the table and ran up to Leon, wrapping him in a tight hug. He returned it gently, noting over her shoulder how the two boys were clearly looking at her short skirt. The girl did have a nice figure. "I'm so glad you made it."

"Hi, Kairi."

She pulled away and went to Cloud. She didn't know him quite as well so the hug was more restrained but there was no less enthusiasm in her voice. "This will be a lot of fun."

Riku smirked but kept his mouth shut.

"So who's doing the intros?"

"You can." Riku folded his arms. Sora nodded agreement.

"Okay." She seemed thrilled. "Well, you've met Selphie. This is Tidus and Wakka." She motioned to first the blonde then the redhead. "They've all been friends with Sora and Riku since before I came."

She switched hand gestures. "And these two are Cloud and Leon."

"We heard a lot about you two, ya." Wakka waved a friendly hand, there was a trace of something akin to sadness in his eyes.

Tidus only nodded, that strange look still on his face.

"So, what are we doing?" Selphie was standing beside Leon. "We could go to the island! That would be fun."

"No." Riku, Sora, and Kairi spoke together.

"Okay." Selphie drew out the word. Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh, I know! Let's see if we can get on the boat tour and see the ocean life."

"That sounds fun." Kairi agreed. "Is that alright with you guys?"

There was a series of nods and shrugs.

"Okay. I think Steve's working today. We can try to get him." Kairi began walking the rest of the group trailing after. "He's majorly into animals. Like obsessed. He helps at the harbor capturing sharks and other dangerous animals."

At the dock, Kairi found the man she was searching for and after talking to him a few minutes, she came back over. "He says he can take us in a half hour. There's another boat going out in ten minutes but I think we should wait for him."

"Yeah." Sora agreed. "I like going with Steve."

"So we wait." Riku checked the time. "It's about eleven now. He's going out at 11:30?"

Kairi nodded. "We can wait at the fishing pier."

"Sure."

Tidus and Wakka were rather quiet during all this. Tidus was doing a poor job concealing his troubled state and Wakka was steadily giving him looks. The blonde looked at Kairi. "How long is the tour supposed to be?"

"Uh, at least an hour."

"We've told the guys we'd go to that practice." Tidus gave Wakka a meaningful glance.

"Oh, yeah." He rubbed at his cheek. "Sorry but we got to bail, man."

"Aww." Selphie pouted. "Really?"

"Yeah." Tidus was already walking away. "In fact, we really need to get going."

Wakka frowned. He said bye and jogged after Tidus.

"Okay. That was really messed up." Sora leaned back on one foot. "They are not usually like that."

"They've been off since we told them Cloud and Leon where coming." Kairi said thoughtfully. "Especially Tidus."

Riku nodded. He gave Selphie a second of attention before smirking. He didn't explain. "We still going to the pier?"

They passed the next twenty minutes leaning on the railing, watching various people fish. A little girl began screaming as she pulled in her what was apparently her first catch. Kairi and Selphie awed it, and even Sora smiled. Riku and Cloud didn't seem to notice, standing close together and conversing quietly.

Sora took a look over at Leon and almost grinned. He had his arms folded before him and every so often shifted his hips a bit. It looked like he was squirming.

He bounded over to his boyfriend. He couldn't resist throwing his arms around him for a quick moment. Leon stiffened a bit before carefully patting the teen's back. Sora pulled only slightly away. "The back of your shirt is drenched."

"It's hot." Leon said easily.

"Yeah. And it's not even one! It's gonna be bad today!" Sora smiled. "We're supposed to get a storm tonight so it will probably cool off early but his gonna be humid as hell all afternoon."

Leon shrugged.

Oh, yeah. He was gonna be totally gone by tomorrow. Sora almost looked forward to it.

"Hey there, mates." A sandy blonde man approached the group wearing khakis. "You all still want that tour?"

"Yeah." Sora tugged Leon back toward the harbor, followed by Steve, Kairi, and Selphie. Riku and Cloud took up the rear.

Riku noticed Leon's uncomfortable gait and actually did smile. An hour on an open boat at midday. Leon was so going down.

"What are you smiling at?" Cloud glanced over with a frown.

He threw an arm around his man's shoulders. "Just thinking how great this trip is already turning out to be."


	6. Chapter 6

So, hehe. The fun begins.

Thank you.

"You picked a really good day to come out; it's nice and hot so many of the animals are close to the surface." Steve steered the pontoon out toward one of the reefs that surrounded the main island. "The mako sharks are being really active."

Cloud looked up from the rail, "Mako sharks?"

Riku laughed, "Relax, love. He's not talking _that _Mako."

They were about a half hour out and the sun shone down brightly. Kairi, Selphie, and Sora were at the opposite railing, pointing at things in the water. Leon was sitting toward the back, leaning against the side, and watching them.

Steve stopped the pontoon and came over to where the three teenagers stood. He scanned the water for a moment and pointed a bit away; "There's a few."

Riku tugged Cloud over to join them, "come on, Leon."

"I can see just fine from here."

Sora turned to frown at him, "You sure?"

"Yeah."

Sora was not convinced. He bounced over and sat beside him, "You okay?"

"Fine."

Sora pouted, knowing the other man was lying.

Leon sighed. "I'm just not big on boats, all right."

"You didn't say anything." Sora brushed damp bangs exposing Leon's scar.

"It's not a big deal." He smiled tiredly at the smaller brunette. He looked totally beat. "Go have fun."

Sora bit his lip. He didn't want to leave Leon alone back here.

Leon suddenly leaned over and kissed him lightly. "Go… I'm enjoying just watching you."

Sora grinned happily and jumped up. He ran back over to the others and began listening intently to Steve as he scanned the water wherever the man pointed. Leon watched him with a quiet smile.

Sweat dripped in his eyes but he refused to wipe at it any more than necessary. He would not let the heat get to him. He was completely and totally fine. He didn't sleep well last night, which is the only reason he was tired. He closed his eyes a moment.

Riku glanced back at Leon and snickered. The man had either fallen asleep or passed out from the heat. He knew he shouldn't laugh, but it was so damn amusing. He nudged Cloud and inclined his head toward the sleeping man. The blonde looked and a small snort escaped him, "think he's dead?"

"Naw, he's still sweating," Riku moved from the group. Steve kept a small fridge filled with water near the helm. The silver-haired boy took one of these and brought it over to the leather-clad man. He tapped it to Leon's forehead, causing him to jerk awake. "Here; I don't want to deal with Sora if you die of heat stroke."

He received a weak glare but that was all. That alone told him that Leon was much worse off than he was letting on. He smirked and went back to the group.

The hour wound up and Steve returned them to the dock. Sora immediately went to Leon to sit with him. Kairi looked at them for a moment before turning to Riku and Cloud. "He's not going to make it."

Selphie giggled, "What type of idiot wears leather in a place like this? You did tell him, didn't you?"

"Of course," Riku looked hurt that she would even ask.

"Well, I have to wonder." Selphie put her hands on her hips. "I mean your boy there isn't much better with all that black fabric. Not that they aren't, ya know, sexy as all heck in it but seriously."

Kairi nodded, "_You_ don't even stick to the total black look during the day."

Riku shook his head. "Well, they were both warned so they have to deal with whatever happens to them."

"Well I can't speak for Leon but I've never been terribly temperature sensitive." Cloud leaned on the rail with his arms folded. He in fact hadn't broken too much of a sweat. "The Mako conditioning saw to that."

"Oh…" Selphie looked confused for a moment then returned her attention to the two in the back. "They really are adorable; they're so… different."

"Yeah," Kairi agreed, "I was totally freaked out at first but it really does work."

The boat docked and everyone disembarked, thanking Steve. He cheerfully welcomed them back any time and they walked away; Selphie jumped ahead and turned, walking backwards now. "So what next?"

"Food," Sora shouted before anyone else could speak. "Ooh, we should go to the crepe counter!"

"Yeah!" agreed Selphie. "That's good! They'll like that!"

"Is it outside?" Leon asked idly.

"Yep. Almost everything here is," Kairi explained. "After lunch, we could go to the sponge museum. That's kinda cool."

Riku shrugged, glancing at Cloud. "What do you guys want to do? This is your trip. We've seen all this before."

"Told you before, we're here to see you."

The silver-haired teen kissed the corner of his mouth. Selphie squealed, "Oh my gosh! That was so, so…"

Riku smirked at her. "Nothing, Selph. See me later if you want a show."

Selphie grinned wildly as Kairi rolled her eyes. "So, crepes and then the sponge museum, yes?"

Everyone nodded his or her confirmation.

The crepe counter was back at the wharf. Both Riku and Sora kept glancing at Leon for any sign of discomfort but he gave very few. Man, the guy was good. Even Cloud started getting in on it.

The two workers at the permanent stand knew the teenagers from school and a quick discussion broke out. After about ten minutes, Leon was beginning to look rather irritated. Sora picked up on this and roped the conversation in. "Come on, guys. Let's order so we can get going."

"Oh!" Selphie giggled. She'd been flirting with the black haired one. "Ok, Yuri, this is gonna be a challenge cause believe it or not, those two have _never_ had Island Crepes before."

"Really? What are they from another planet? Everyone's had Island Crepes at least once." Black eyes were clearly stunned.

"Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we Shibuya?" The other one pushed his glasses up. He picked up a pencil and held it before a small notepad. "All right, let 'er rip."

The girls named theirs, followed by Sora, who demanded extra everything. Riku ordered his, being very specific on what he wanted and how much. Then he glanced over to Cloud. "You trust me?"

Cloud seemed to consider this. "I suppose."

Riku twisted his face at him and turned back. "Well just for that, I'm getting you the most disgusting thing on the menu."

Everyone knew he wasn't serious, especially once he finished. "All right, Leon. Your turn."

"I don't want anything." He went over to sit at one of the long tables shaded by large umbrellas.

"Aww, does someone not feel well?" Riku snickered. Leon glared weakly. "All joking aside Leon, you need to eat. It will help, trust me."

"Fine, just get whatever."

Riku glanced at Sora who was frowning deeply at his boyfriend. Blue eyes flicked over for a second to Yuri. He mumbled the name of one of the crepes then went over to sit beside Leon.

Grey eyes shifted to regard him. Sora didn't say anything. He simply sat beside him. Kairi and Selphie soon joined them with smoothies. They were followed shortly but Riku and Cloud, who had the crepes. Riku shouted a quick thank you over his shoulder.

He passed the wrappers out, Cloud retrieving both their smoothies. Sitting at the end of the table, Riku tossed a few napkins over to the rest. The eating then commenced. Sora was already half done with his, making a drippy mess on the paper. Leon picked at his but was slowly eating it.

Kairi and Selphie kept up conversation and one of the two boys would come over under the pretense of cleaning tables. Sora laughed along with them and Riku made several jabbing comments at their expense. Cloud was amused listening to them and even Leon smiled a little.

"So where are you guys going after this?"

Sora handed over the tray now loaded down with trash. "The sponge museum."

"Ah, That's a cool place. Have fun with that."

"Thanks, Murata."

Leon looked a whole lot better now. Sora reached over and squeezed his hand. "Let's get in some air conditioning, guys."

"We should buy Leon a sponge there to sop up all that sweat." Riku snickered. "Oh! We can get him one of the long flat ones and he can stick it down his pants."

Cloud snorted and the girls laughed. Leon shot him an evil glare that clearly read _I hope you die_. Riku blew him a kiss and lead the group away. The museum was on the other side of the island so they caught a ride on the trolley. Large fans circulated the air inside.

"Hey, you think we should call Josie and find out when she wants us there?" Sora asked.

'Yeah, that's a good idea." Riku pulled out his phone. He searched the number and made the call. After a few minutes talking, he closed it and put it away. "Eight or nine. She says it slows down then so it will be easier to get in."

"Less people." Sora commented slowly. He was thinking about something. Given the few looks there had been, it was a fairly good guess what that was.

Riku shrugged. "Who cares?"

"Oooh, it'll be like a double date!" Selphie beamed. "That's so romantic! You guys totally need to share papou fruits!"

An odd look crossed Riku's face. "You still don't believe that."

"Of course I do!" She narrowed her eyes. "And I bet you do, too. You're a total closet romantic."

"Whatever." Riku turned to look out the opening.

The rest of the ride was quiet and they literally hopped off at the museum. The trolley didn't stop there but moved slow enough to allow that. Riku's parents had had yearly passes so he was able to convince the admission woman to let them all in for free. The dead parents sob story paid off sometimes.

A little over an hour was spent wandering around, studying the history of sponge fishing off of one of the smaller nearby islands. It was quite cool in the building and Leon seemed decidedly more comfortable though he still moved a bit funny. He was definitely less crabby.

Once bored with the place and after Leon attacked Riku and Selphie for actually buying him a damn sponge, they left with the intention of heading home. It was getting close to seven and the girls needed to get home. The guys figured they should probably shower and change before going back out.

Kairi and Selphie split off from them, heading toward the Mayor's house.

The other four went back to Riku's. They walked in quietly, Riku tossing his keys to the side. He immediately latched on to Cloud's waist. "We have a huge hot water tank so both showers can run at the same time."

He tugged Cloud with him up the stairs. "Have fun."

Sora twisted his face. At least they had managed to not make a scene once today. Did sex do that to everyone? He really hoped not. "So, uh, you wanna go first? I really don't think I need a shower."

"I guess." Leon quietly stated. He went carefully up the stairs. He knew he was being rather rude but at the moment didn't much care. He'd make it up to Sora later.

He ducked into his room and shut the door behind him. He leaned against it a moment. Oh, he knew he wasn't going to like this. Resigning himself to the inevitable, he first went to start the shower. Then he went over to the bed and sat down. He pulled his boots off, wincing a little at the blistering.

Then he sighed and lay back. He unsnapped his pants button and dropped the zipper. Just that small release made him happy. With a groan, he stood and placed his hands on the damp leather waist band. Very slowly, he began the process of literally peeling the pants off of him.

It took nearly ten minutes.

Once done however, he couldn't describe the relief he felt. He was insane. He knew that perfectly well now but that damn pride of his would not allow him to concede to it. He would wear the leather and continue to suffer silently.

He tossed the pants toward the vent, figuring the moving air would dry them out faster. The rest of his clothes were sent in that general direction. Naked, he walked to the shower and simply stood under the water.


	7. Chapter 7

Hehe. I love this chapter. I think it's the longest one, too.

Feedback PLEASE!!!!

He felt worlds better, toweling off his sable hair and heading for the dresser he had placed his clothes in. It was well into sunset and he was certain that the air would have cooled some by now. He had brought a pair of jeans but if he wore those now, Riku would declare victory.

Oh, yes he knew the silver-haired lover of his best friend was waiting for him to crack.

He'd only brought his light weight leathers knowing that tropical environments did get hot; he had paid attention to his lessons in Balamb Garden but he hadn't quite expected how steamy.

There was a soft knock on the door. "Uh, Leon? You-"

The door was opened before he finished the sentence.

On total impulse, Leon tugged him in and shut the door. He ignored Sora's squeak of protest and lightly pushed him toward the bed. When he fell back against it, Leon was quickly kneeling over him gazing down into those blue eyes.

"Uh… Leon, I-"

He shushed him with a finger. "Don't worry."

He bent down and kissed the teen thoroughly. Sora stopped resisting after only a moment, opening his mouth some to allow Leon in. This went on for several minutes with some exploring of hands added. Leon teased the waistband of Sora's shorts a bit, observing his reaction. When his fingertips bushed his hipbone Sora sighed loudly.

Leon smiled into Sora's neck, which he had been nibbling on. He then pulled back and nipped once at his earlobe. There was a soft moan of protest as Leon got up and off of the younger one. "I need to finish getting dressed."

"What," Sora slowly sat up. "What was that for?"

"A test."

"Test?"

"Yes." Leon pulled out a navy blue shirt. He threw it on, taking an unnecessarily long time to tug it down over his chest and abs. He knew Sora was watching intently. When finished, he smirked. "You're almost there."

Sora blinked. "Huh?"

He was so naïve it was adorable and infuriating.

Not bothering to answer with words, Leon stepped over to the boy again. He brushed that soft cheek and just barely leaned down. Those large blue eyes were just daring him to try something but he held himself back. The last he wanted to do was completely freak Sora out.

He did have a promise to keep to Seiya, after all.

"Do you know if Cloud and Riku are done?" He turned away to get his boots.

Sora stood there for a moment longer, eyes heavy-lidded. When he realized Leon had moved off, he straightened and blushed in embarrassment. He'd _really_ wanted… something. "Well, the shower's off now."

"Were you taking a shower or not?"

"Ah, no. I'm good." Sora chuckled a bit. "I don't get really sweaty."

Oh, there was that temptation again.

"What time is it?" Sitting on the bed, Leon pulled on his footwear.

Sora sat beside him. "We have to leave in like twenty minutes."

The younger one hesitantly held up a hand, letting it hover just above Leon's leg. With almost forced determination, he dropped it on the leather clad skin. "Leon, I-"

"What's taking so long in there?" Riku's laughing voice called through the door. "Quit making out and actually do something or get downstairs."

Leave it to Riku to wreck the moment. Sora sighed withdrawing his hand. Leon suddenly gripped it, holding it in place. He bent over and drew Sora into a long kiss. When he pulled away, all he murmured was, "Soon."

Sora nodded.

"There you are." Riku smirked from his couch, head flipped over the armrest. Cloud was at the other, lap filled with Riku's bare feet. Both were wearing black, Riku's pants having yellow stitching. They so screamed emo couple. "And here we were beginning to think we were gonna have to go without you."

"And miss out on all-you-can-eat crab legs?" Sora was clearly stunned by the idea. "Are you insane?"

Riku sat up. "Yeah. Forgot who I was talking to. All right, now where'd my shoes go?"

"So does this place have anything but crab?" Cloud asked softly.

"Yeah, Josie's got everything but her crab is the best on the island." Riku located his shoes and he slid his feet into them.

"All seafood?"

"Well, there might be some chicken but this is an island based world." Riku said almost mockingly. "Pretty much everything is going to be seafood based."

Leon glanced at Cloud, noting there was a slight twitch to the man's lip. "Don't like seafood?"

Cloud shrugged. "Not particularly but it's all right."

Riku frowned. "You didn't say anything."

"You really thought I would?"

"Guess not." Riku hold out a hand and pulled Cloud off the couch. "Let's move out, guys."

It had definitely cooled off by a few degrees and while it was still extremely hot, it wasn't sweltering. Again, they walked the long trek to the docks. There were quite a few more people out now as the sun sat low in the sky.

The little group was greeted by several curious looks and more than a few stares. Riku took this all in stride and Cloud and Leon weren't particularly troubled by it but Sora was clearly a bit uncomfortable. He kept his head down a little and his hands in his pockets.

A few of the islanders said hello and even less actually engaged them all in a few moments conversation. Riku held onto Cloud's hand the entire time. Outside of a couple of raised eyebrows, more attention was actually paid to the foreigners.

At Josie's they were greeted by yet another classmate, this one from Riku's class level. However, she clearly wasn't fond of the guy because the thin smile on her face was so completely transparent she needn't have bothered with it. She left in a hurry to get Josie, blonde hair whipping behind her.

"Well, she seems nice." Leon commented dryly.

"Barbie's a bitch." Riku muttered. "Half the blitzball team's been with her."

"She started a club at school called the 'we girls can to anything club'. Kairi and Selphie went to the first meeting." Sora chuckled. "Kai said it was more like the 'we girls will do anyone club'.

"Hello, there boys." Josie's cheerful voice called out as she appeared at the dinning room entrance. She beckoned them forward. "Come on. I'm putting you deck side."

The main restaurant was less than half-full and no seemed to notice as they passed through. She walked them through a door, onto a large patio that hung out over the water. A few tables were taken and the server glanced over from the server station.

"Sauske, these are special guests from out of town. Make sure they get anything they want."

The black haired teenager nodded. He didn't smile but he didn't appear unfriendly either. "Yes, Josie."

She shook her head and leaned a little toward Riku. "He's a bit reclusive but a wonderful boy. Doesn't have too many friends though I think that's by his choice."

"Where's he from?" Sora asked. "I've never seen him at school and he looks our age."

"I attend a specialized school on one of the smaller islands." Sauske answered, setting glasses of water on the table. His voice was neutral, more bored than upset that he was being discussed.

"Oh." Sora blushed a bit in embarrassment.

Josie patted Riku's shoulder. "I'll check back with you boys later. Please order anything you want and don't worry about it."

She moved off and Sauske waited.

"I'm starving!" Sora didn't even open his menu. "I want a banana daiquiri and that crab dip stuff."

Riku blew out a breath. "I knew that's what you'd start with. You planning to share that?"

"Well, uh. You don't really get that much…"

"Make it two dips and the siesta mix. Oh, and the teriyaki wings." Riku added. "You two see anything you want to add?"

Leon shrugged and Cloud muttered a no.

"Anyone else want drinks? Sauske asked in that same disinterested tone.

"A beer would be great." Leon flicked his eyes at Cloud who nodded. "Two."

"Pineapple twist." Riku half-grinned at the black haired server.

He merely nodded and turned away.

"Does he remind anyone else of Cloud?" Sora asked the table.

"A bit." Leon agreed.

Riku thought about it a moment and nodded. "Kinda.'

Cloud shrugged, blue eyes glancing over the menu laid out before him. Maybe Leon was reading too much into it but he looked a bit concerned.

"Well, I already know what Sora's getting." Riku smirked. "He gets the same thing every time."

"Hey! I love crab legs and it's one of the few thing my mom just can't get right." Sora protested. "And Josie lets me eat all I want!"

"Yeah, I don't even want to think how much money she loses on you."

"Say that again!" Sora threatened.

"You remind me of a blonde guy I train with." Sauske returned with tray full of drinks. "Annoys the heck out of me."

"Unfortunately, he's been my best friend since before I can remember so I gotta put up with him. But this one," he motioned to Leon. "He chose to date the guy."

"Hey!" Sora grimaced.

The other looked at Cloud with a slight smirk. "Let me guess, you only deal with him cause he's your guy's best friend."

"Naw, every group needs a bitch boy." The blonde said smoothly without batting an eye.

Riku actually choked on his drink. He turned to Cloud and pressed a loud kiss to his cheek. "I knew there was a reason other than sex I stayed with you."

Sauske left again, returning only a minute later with the appetizers. "You all figure out what you're getting yet?"

"Crab legs. As many as I can get!"

"The Wharf collection but kill the calamari." Leon closed the menu handing both his and Sora's untouched one to Sauske. "I hate squid."

"Grilled Mai -Mai with mixed rice." Riku flicked his eyes over. "You're last."

Cloud took another moment then seemed to settle his mind on something. "Lobster alfrado."

"I can heard the arteries closing." Leon commented dryly.

"I don't have to worry about things like that."

They dug into the dips, Sora practically eating one on his one. He kept up a running commentary about appetizers and how silly the whole idea of something you eat before you eat to make you more hungry was. It just screamed gluttony. For the most part the others ignored him.

Cloud picked a bit at the siesta mix but didn't touch the crab dip. He stuck mostly to the wings.

Sauske returned twice to replace drinks and then clear dishes. The place had cleared out a little more and sun was extremely low, barely visible over the ocean. Lanterns lit up along the patio edge.

Riku looked over at Cloud, who was staring at it. He nudged him with his elbow before leaning up on him. "Pretty, isn't it?"

"Gorgeous." Cloud murmured into his ear.

Even Leon's attention seemed to be snagged by it.

Riku caught Sora's eye and the younger one nodded. They were definitely going to have to take them out to the play island sometime.

"Here we go." Sauske settled a large tray on the opposite table. He passed out the meals and with one final look over everything, left.

They were rather quiet as they ate, Sora too busy with trying to crack open his legs perfectly to really talk and the others, well they didn't talk much anyway. Sora was finishing his third plate when Josie returned to check on them. She smiled at him and rubbed his hair affectionately.

She frowned at Cloud. "Is the lobster not to your liking?"

All attention was placed on him and his plate. Indeed, it did appear that most of the white meat had been left. "Oh, no. It's quite good. I just like to leave it for last."

Cloud stuffed a few bits into his mouth with a weak smile. It was enough to convince Josie and Sora but Riku and Leon still looked at him oddly.

"Good. Well, make sure you leave room for dessert." She advised.

"Oh, there's no way." Riku sighed. "I'm so beyond done already."

"Well then tell Sauske and he'll pack it to go for you dears."

"Thank you, Josie. For everything, really."

"Yes." Leon agreed. "This was really too much."

"Nonsense." She wave the appreciation off. "Riku and Sora here have been helping me out for years. It's about time I get to do something for them. It has been my pleasure to meet such fine young men. I can tell all of you will be quite happy together for a long time."

Sauske cleared a few more dishes, subtly catching Cloud's eye. As the group addressed Josie, he managed to step over and nab the blonde man's plate with most of the lobster still on it. The man mouthed a silent thank you.

"Sauske, make sure they each take home a dessert." The middle-aged woman instructed. "And the four of you enjoy the rest of the night. Any time you want to return, just call."

"Right." Sora nodded, jumping up and hugging the woman.

She laughed and went away. Sauske got the dessert list from them and left to get it ready for them. He returned about ten minutes later with a bag filled with four boxes. "Who wants it?"

"I got it." Sora stated, taking the handles.

Sauske frowned over at Cloud. "You going to be okay?"

Riku looked over and quirked an eyebrow in concern. "Your face is turning red."

"I'm fine." His voice was tight and a bit breathy.

"You don't look fine."

"I am." A thin trail of sweat ran down his cheek.

Leon suddenly snorted. He gave Cloud a pointed look. "You realize you aren't getting a trace of sympathy from me."

"Don't want it." He looked really uncomfortable and his skin was a bit puffy.

Sauske bit his lip. "You must really love this guy."

Riku glanced at him and turned back. "What?"

"He's allergic to shell fish." Sauske stated simply. "He should have said something."

"What?" The silver-haired teen glared at his boyfriend.

"It's not that bad of an allergy." Cloud got out. "I shouldn't have eaten enough to get like this."

"The noodles are actually boiled in the same water as the lobster." Sauske's lip turned up though he was clearly trying to fight it. "The whole dish is saturated with it."

Cloud's eyes widened. "Shit."

"You aren't going to die from this, are you?" Riku asked seriously. When Cloud shook his head, Riku smacked him, trying not to laugh. "You're a real idiot, you know!"

"I didn't think-"

"Well there's his first problem." Leon snickered. Sora was outright giggling.

"It isn't funny." Cloud muttered irritably.

"Damn right it is." Leon stood, followed by Sora. "Come on, let's get out of here before Josie sees you and freaks out."

"I bet my mom has something."

"No." Cloud said emphatically. "I'll be fine. It'll go away soon."

They left the restaurant in a hurry and walked back toward Riku's house. It was full dark now so anyone else out wouldn't notice Cloud's condition. By the time they got home, Cloud was very swollen and constantly scratching at his skin. He went straight upstairs.

"He's going to be like this all night." Leon noted, going into the kitchen for a beer. "Zell had the same allergy and he'd been swollen for a good five hours."

Riku looked more annoyed than concerned. "Stupid man."

"He was trying to be sweet." Sora put the desserts in the fridge. "He knew we really wanted to do this so he figured he could handle a little bit without too much trouble. Notice he got something he thought he could easily pick the shellfish from?"

"Yeah." Riku sighed. "He still should have said something."

"This is Cloud we're talking about." Leon took a long draw from his bottle.

"Yeah." Riku said again. "Oh well. I better stay with him. The whole in sickness and in health thing. They really should have a loophole for stupidity."

He left the kitchen and Sora glanced at Leon. "They're gonna be pissy in the morning."

"Probably." Leon agreed.


	8. Chapter 8

Not nearly as haha funny but still humorous. I hope. I know I left it in a bad spot but I'm not sorry. Well, maybe a little.

Just a reminder, I don't own Seiya. I'm simply borrowing her. And I know the end bit of this is similar to a scene in the story A Complete 180 , which is where Seiya is from.

Think that covers it.

Riku stared at the ceiling, watching a spider slowly walk across it. Beside him, Cloud slept in a fitful state wheezing through his swollen face. It had only been two hours. It felt a lot longer.

Riku cursed himself and his nympho habits. Then he cursed Cloud for being so idiotically sweet. Had he found out about this under different circumstances, he probably would have gotten all girly about it. Then he would have gotten his brains fucked out.

He groaned and got up. Cloud was going to be out for a while and he was simply too frustrated to sleep. He hadn't heard Sora or Leon come up. Hopefully they were still up.

Quietly padding into the hallway, he saw both bedroom doors open confirming that the other two were still downstairs. He made it as far as the top of the stairs. There were rather distinct noises coming from below and he crouched down on the first step.

From his vantage point, he could see two heads of brunette hair engaged in a rather heavy make-out session. Despite his own desire to be doing similar activities, he smiled to himself. It was good to see Sora finally adjusting to being in a full-fledged relationship. He knew how much Leon was holding back.

It only proved how much the man truly loved him.

With a silent sigh, Riku stood and turned back the way he came. He wasn't a voyeur and was already too wound up to risk watching any more. He'd just go take a very long shower.

Riku dried out his hair, walking back into his room. He wasn't sure how long he'd been in the shower but Cloud certainly sounded better now. He padded over to the bed, climbing up on his knees and pushed back the blankets a bit.

The swelling had gone down considerably and his pale skin was returning to its normal color. He knew it hadn't been that long so this must be a result of Cloud's abnormally fast healing capabilities. It was one of the only benefits to what ShinRa had done to him.

The blonde twisted a bit, tugging the blanket back over him. Riku bit his lip, smiling at how adorable this was. He himself got under the covers and settled in beside his lover. He lay on his side, watching Cloud sleep. The soft breathing, now nearly free of any sign of distress was enough to lull him asleep with him.

He awoke to fingers lightly tracing his chest. He let out a content sigh, moving closer to the body of warmth those fingers belonged to. The hand flattened to rest on his stomach.

"I'm sorry."

"Mmm. Don't be." Riku mumbled. "Just don't be so idiotically sweet again."

Cloud made a low chuckle.

Riku cracked an eye open. The blonde was completely recovered now and looking at him regret in those oh so blue eyes. He grinned a little and raised a hand to wrap around the other's neck. "C'mere."

He tugged Cloud down and kissed him at length. This quickly wasn't nearly enough and as mouths and tongues sought out new places to explore in familiar territory, hands were shoving away interfering bedding before clutching at each others skin.

A sudden banging on the door interrupted the moment. "It's after eleven!"

"Shit." Riku cursed. "Yeah, be there in a minute!"

"What?" Cloud frowned as Riku slid out from beneath him.

"I have to meet with my parents' attorney." Riku searched through his closet. He took out a green dress shirt, tossing it on the bed before rummaging through a drawer and taking out black dress pants. "It shouldn't take long."

Cloud watched as Riku quickly dressed. He'd never seen his boyfriend dressed up before. "What's it for?"

"I have to pick up my monthly siphon and sign a few papers." Riku left his shirt open as he flitted about for shoes. Once he found them, he sat on his desk chair to put them on. "I turn eighteen next month and that's when all of this," he motioned vaguely around them, "officially becomes mine."

He buttoned up the shirt and tucked it in. He belted up and then looked to Cloud.

"Wow."

Riku frowned. "What?"

"I've never seen you like this."

The boy smirked. "And?"

"You look good."

Riku came over, threaded his fingers through blonde spikes and gave Cloud a very through kiss. He pulled back and moved away. "We'll continue when I get back."

Cloud came downstairs a short while later. Leon glanced over from the sofa, light smile on his face. "Better?"

"Don't start." Cloud mumbled. He came around and rather ungracefully flopped into the chair. Leon was stretched out on the cushions with Sora lying on top of him. The boy's head rested on his chest and he was sound asleep. "You look comfy."

"I'm tired." Leon toyed with a bit of Sora's hair. "It was a long night."

Cloud gave him an expectant look.

"Not that." Leon mock glared. "Though that was the main topic of discussion."

"And?"

"We're getting there." Leon glanced down at the slumbering weight on his chest. "A lot faster than either of us expected."

Cloud shook his head once, getting back up. "I envy your control, Leo. I would have fucked him senseless by now."

"And be wallowing in guilt since."

"True." He went toward the kitchen. "You know what the schedule for today is?"

"Nope. Sora fell asleep almost as soon as Riku left."

Cloud made coffee and brought some for Leon who nodded appreciatively. They didn't talk, just sat in companionable silence. That was the beautiful thing about their friendship, they rarely needed to speak. They just seemed to understand one another.

Riku returned about twenty minutes later, Seiya in tow. First thing she saw was Leon and Sora. She silently awed, both hands going to her face. She bit her lip as she approached them, patting Leon's shoulder and mouthing _good job_.

Riku looked unhappy as he crossed the room and heading into the kitchen. Cloud caught Seiya's eye and she motioned him to follow Riku. He frowned and did as she indicated.

Riku sat at the kitchen table, slightly vacant look on his face. Cloud came around and draped his arms over his shoulders. "What's wrong?"

Long fingers reached up to squeeze his hands. "Nothing important. There's a couple of snags with the will. We'll get it worked out."

Riku tilted his head back and Cloud dropped his to press his lips to the others. When they broke apart, the silver haired one smiled. "So you ready for today's activities?"

Cloud raised an eye. He didn't like how Riku asked that.

"We're going to the beach."

"We are?" It was really more of a statement than question.

"Yeah." Riku stood up. "The others are meeting us there."

Seiya smiled at Riku and Cloud as they re-entered the front room. She glanced at Leon. "Better wake him up."

Leon nudged the brunette curled up on top of him. Sora stirred a bit muttering something and re-settling more snuggly on to the older man's body. He made another attempt, this time earning a strangled groan of protest.

"Mmm, Leon."

"Mmm what?"

The smaller teenager twisted around, nuzzling into Leon's neck. "You smell good."

"Do I?" Seiya, Riku, and Cloud were trying very hard to remain quiet.

"Um hum. Better than cookies."

Seiya giggled. "Oh now I know he loves you."

Sora's voice was suddenly a lot clearer. "My mom's here, isn't she?"

"Morning, sweetie."

The brunette shot up as if he'd been bit. Leon grunted in pain as an elbow dug into his abdomen. "Mom! What are you? Oh, Leon!" He whirled around. "I'm so sorry!"

"S'aright." Leon ground out, sitting up. "Didn't need those few feet of intestine any way."

"Sora." Seiya smacked his arm. "Now you know you have to make it up to him."

"Not now he doesn't." Riku was trying not to laugh at the whole thing. "We're already gonna be really late."

"Late for what?" Leon frowned.

"Apparently we're going to the beach." Cloud informed him calmly. "Dress appropriately."

Leon gave the blonde an evil look.

"He'll be fine in whatever." Seiya was fussing with Sora's hair. "There's a storm coming in so it's rather mild out. Supposed to be a big one, too. Could be the first typhoon of the season."

"Oh that's not good." Riku looked unhappy. "Those can go on for days."

"Oh, you'll be fine." Seiya laughed. "Why do you think I came over?"

She moved past them all to go into the kitchen. "Now, you all go out and see your friends for a while. I'll make sure you have everything you need if there is a storm."

Twenty minutes later, the two couples were walking in the direction of the dock but along a street three blocks down. It was much cooler but very humid with a rather strong wind blowing. Leon breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"I think Seiya was right about the storm." Riku pulled some side hair from his mouth. He turned and walked backwards so he could talk to Sora. "Maybe we should just collect the others and go back to the house."

Sora shrugged, scanning the sky. "I don't think we'll see anything soon. The sky's still pretty clear."

"Yeah but you know how fast these things move in."

"True." The shortest of the group agreed. "Well, let's see what they want to do."

The other four members of the Destiny Islands gang where waiting at the one of the sheltered picnic spot along the beach not too far from the lifeguard station. In fact, Selphie was over there talking to one of the guard.

Kairi waved to them from her perch on the table. Wakka sat on the sandy ground, Tidus on the bench behind him. Again Tidus looked like he was only there because they made him be there.

"Hey, man." Wakka greeted. "Looks like we're gettin' first storm of the season, ya?"

"Yeah." Riku agreed. "Did you guys wanna hang out here or go back to the house? Seiya's there now."

"Your house." Selphie skipped over. "Seiya will have fully stocked the kitchen by now."

"Probably." Sora was giving Tidus a curious look. "You all right?"

"Fine." The blonde stood up. "Let's go."

Kairi and Selphie watched him step away, glancing at each other. Wakka frowned a bit before getting up off the ground. It seemed that the three of them knew something that Sora and Riku didn't. This also put Cloud and Leon at a total disadvantage.

Seiya had in fact fully stocked Riku's house with food and drinks and was in the mists of cooking several things when they returned. Selphie and Kairi began helping her and after sitting in terse silence with the other guys for nearly ten minutes, Leon joined them.

About an hour later, they finished in the kitchen. They brought in some eats and Seiya handed each of the guys in the front room a beer. "All of you need to loosen up." She gave Tidus a pointed look. "Especially you."

Tidus started to glare but it quickly turned into a grimace like smile. He nodded and took the bottle from her. "Yeah, uh, sorry guys. I really don't mean to be a downer. I'm just going through some stuff."

Both Wakka and Selphie gave knowing nods. They had to know what was going on. Given that little bit of information Selphie had let slip yesterday, Kairi and Riku had a fair idea. Sora of course was simply confused.

The rain had begun and the wind picked up. The radio confirmed that the storm was expected to last at least until the next evening. It wasn't a terribly large storm but definitely the first typhoon of the season. All of them were going to be stuck there for the night.

The power gave out around eight, much to Sora and Tidus' dismay. They had just managed to gain the upper hand against Cloud and Wakka in the video game they were playing. Riku and Leon had been on the sofa with Seiya. Kairi, having an eerie sixth sense about these things, had begun gathering candles and battery power lights with Wakka. Selphie was no where to be seen.

"How do you do that?" Tidus asked in admiration as Kairi lit the candle array she had set up on the television.

She shrugged a little, moving on to the next set.

"Hey, guys? Where's Selphie?" Sora looked around in concern.

No one else seemed worried. Riku finished his second beer. "I think she went upstairs."

"Why?"

He didn't get an answer for the flippy hair brunette herself came bounding down the stairs. "Wow, it got dark! You should hear to wind up there. It's really blowing."

"Yeah, Selph. It's called a typhoon." Tidus rolled his eyes.

"So what are we gonna do?" She leaned up on the back of the chair Cloud had retreated to. "Ooh, I know! Let's play Double Truths!"

This earned groans from Riku, Sora, and Tidus.

"Oh come on!" She smacked the chair, making Cloud cringe. "Oh! Sorry."

"She is way too much like Yuffie." The blonde muttered.

Leon was watching her again with that expression of faint recognition. He wiped it from his face, replacing it with indifference. "What's Double Truths?"

"Someone asks anyone in the room two questions. That person answers one honestly and makes up the other answer. Then the one who asked the question has to decide which is the truth." Kairi explained.

"That sounds fun." Seiya commented from beside Leon. "I'm in."

"I'll play." Wakka agreed. "Don't got any better ideas, ya."

"I'm in." Cloud's voice was barely heard. Riku stared at him in disbelief.

Sora sighed. "Well if Cloud's willing to play, I guess I will too."

Riku who was still looking at Cloud stunned mumbled his participation. This left Leon and Tidus. The younger blonde glanced at everyone else then flicked his eyes at Leon. The sable haired man clearly did not want to do this but he shrugged. "Fine."

Tidus bit his lip and nodded. "Start 'er up, Selph."

"Okay!" She was way too excited about this. "Uh… Seiya, who taught you how to make those really awesome beignets and how many boyfriends have you had?

"My grandmother and four." Seiya answered easily.

"You're lying about your grandmother. She died before you were born!" Selphie almost shouted.

"You've had four boyfriends?" Sora stared at his mom. "Who?"

"Oh, they were all before you were born. Is it my turn now?" At Selphie's nod, she grinned. "Good. All right Sora dear. Who's the first person you liked and why are you embarrassed that I like your boyfriend?"

"Oh, jeez." Sora dropped his head in his hands. "I'm not- ugh, never mind. All right. Riku and it's just weird okay?"

"He's gotta be lying about Riku." Selphie giggled.

"No he isn't." Kairi countered. "He's been in love with Riku for years."

"Kairi!"

Riku stared at him before turning to Kairi. "Really?"

"Oh, yeah." She waved a hand. "He's over it now obviously."

"So why are you-" Seiya turned back to her son.

"I don't have to answer." Sora was clearly relieved. "Cloud, who was your childhood idol and what was your favorite thing your mom made for you?"

"Sephiroth and blueberry muffins."

Sora tilted his head. "Did you even try?"

Cloud watched him neutrally.

Sora sighed. "You're lying about Sephiroth. You despise that guy."

"No." Cloud corrected. "The muffins were chocolate chip."

"Whah?" Sora gaped. "Sephiroth was your idol?"

"He was everyone's till he went insane." The blonde man calmly stated.

"But how-"

Riku cleared his throat, catching Sora's attention and barely shaking his head. He was still shocked that Cloud was willingly participating in this game. Sora backed off and Cloud asked Selphie her two questions.

They went through two full rounds of this and on the third, the inevitable more personal questions were beginning to be asked.

"Leon, who was your first love and has Sora frustrated the hell out of you yet?" Kairi giggled as she asked.

Leon's eyes shifted to the brunette on the floor. Clearly, he was debating how he was going to answer this one. Sora would know he was lying. Then again so would Riku and Cloud. Oh the hell with it. "Rinoa and yes."

Sora stared at him a moment, ignoring the few snerks. The boy's blue eyes had gotten wide and his lower lip trembled. He smiled a bit at the older man before turning away. He knew his mother had been watching closely.

"Leon?" Riku snapped to get his attention. There was a smirk on his face that Leon definitely disliked and Cloud was no better. "Kai called you on the second. It's your turn."

Leon went straight back to business. "Cloud, do you ever let Riku totally dominate you and did you ever tell him about us?"

Riku narrowed his eyes and whirled on Cloud. "What about the two of you?"

Cloud glared at his best friend. "That's low, Leonheart."

"Answer the question, Strife."

The blonde was decidedly uncomfortable. He knew everyone was watching him now. Damn, Leon. He got a tough one and just had to turn it on him. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do and Riku wasn't nearly as forgiving as Sora. "No to both."

"You're lying on the first."

Selphie squealed. "Oh! Oh! I need details! I can soo see Riku getting all seme unexpectedly. That would be so hot!"

Neither Riku nor Cloud paid her any attention. They were locked in some kind of mental conversation. Suddenly, Riku stood up and climbed his way over to his boyfriend. He motioned Selphie to clear out, which she did with a curious look.

He climbed into Cloud's lap and whispered something in his ear. Cloud nodded and Riku turned to sit in that lap, long legs dangling off the side. He again whispered to the blonde who glanced at him quizzically before turning to Tidus on the floor.

The teenage blonde squared his shoulders, realizing he was going to be the next target. Given the last two sets of questions, he wasn't going to like it. "Tidus, what's going on with you and Wakka and why did you seem upset when you heard Leon and I were coming to visit?"


	9. Chapter 9

Well, let's see if his works for you all. I will be using some literary creativity with timelines later.

All eyes had focused on Tidus at this time. While Wakka's were rather sympathetic with some concern, everyone else stared in blatant curiosity. They all knew the boys had been hiding something for a long time now.

He met his best friend's eyes and the red head nodded once.

Tidus sighed and rubbed the top of his head, tousling his already mussed up hair. A flash of anger lit those blue eyes. "We don't like you and I'm pissed you got to break the rules."

Riku and Sora stared. Leon quirked an eye but otherwise seemed disinterested. Selphie bit her lip, glancing away. Both Seiya and Kairi looked confused. Wakka suddenly found the carpet fascinating, though the set of his jaw said he was upset also.

Cloud just kept his steady gaze on the teenager. "You do like us, otherwise you wouldn't be so conflicted."

Something in Tidus broke and he slapped his hand on the coffee table, "Well it isn't fair! Why do you two get to come here when they can't?"

"Who?" Blonde regarded blonde calmly.

Tidus again sighed. "Yuna."

No one missed the wistful tone in his voice. Cloud leaned back, gently poking Riku's side. This snapped Riku out of his stupor and he flicked his eyes toward Sora. The other boy was frowning in thought. This was definitely not what they had been expecting.

He looked back at Tidus and Wakka. He wanted them to explain but wasn't sure if this was the time to push it. There was one thing he had to clarify however. "Why didn't either of you tell us?"

"There are rules, ya," answered Wakka, "Lulu and Auron made it very clear we needed to follow them."

"I guess since you two are Keybearers, those rules don't apply," Tidus muttered bitterly.

Sora spoke up, "That's not true."

"I don't want to talk about this." Tidus stood. "I'm tired."

Riku pursed his lips but nodded, "Yeah, it's late and the rain makes me sleepy."

There was a general agreement. An uncomfortable feeling had settled over the room and the only way to disperse it was to either force Tidus and Wakka to tell an obviously long and painful story, or break up the group and let everyone get themselves settled.

Riku got out of Cloud's lap. "Tidus and Wakka take the small room, the girls can stay down here. Sora, you're with Leon."

Sora looked completely freaked. He took several not-so-subtle glances at Leon, an obvious flush rising in his cheeks. Oh, this was not good, not at all.

Seiya smiled and waved her fingers at him, "Night, boys."

Selphie and Kairi giggled, arranging themselves around the room with pillows and throws. They blew out a few of the candles, leaving the main setting on the television. Kairi brushed past Sora, taking his arm to stand him up, "Get going."

Leon was getting up, almost ignoring the boy. He took one of the remaining lit candles and fell in line behind Tidus and Wakka, who were already heading up the stairs with a flashlight. He paused at the foot of the stairs, "You coming?"

"Uh, yeah." Sora shot a glare at Riku, who was snickering.

He darted over and followed his boyfriend up.

Once they were presumably out of earshot, Riku grinned. "Well, if this doesn't take care of it, nothing will."

Seiya nodded agreement. She then tilted her head a bit to regard her surrogate son and his blonde lover. "You two going to be okay?"

Riku threw a glance over his shoulder. Cloud was being extremely quiet and could no longer meet his eyes. He reached back and took Cloud's hand. "We have a few things to talk about, but we'll be fine."

The three females nodded.

"Come on," Riku tugged on Cloud's hand. "You first. My night vision sucks compared to yours."

Cloud reluctantly took the lead. Riku sighed. "I swear you think I'm gonna push into the stairs or something."

Cloud stiffened further.

"Move;" The younger commanded. "Night, girls. They're better be breakfast waiting in the morning."

Keeping hold of Cloud's hand, he followed him into the bedroom. It was nearly pitch black with only barest trace of moonlight breaking through the cloud cover outside. He knew the layout of his room well enough that he was able to push Cloud to the bed, forcing him to sit down.

He could just see the light glow of mako blue eyes. Bending forward, he engaged Cloud in a deep, through kiss and drew back. He turned and went to his desk, sitting on top of it. "So, tell me about Leon."

Sora stood nervously by the closed door as Leon set the candle on the bureau. He watched the flickering light dance across the man's face and found his breath falling short. Leon was just so damn-

"You going to be okay with this?"

Sora blinked. "What? Oh, yeah. Why shouldn't I be? We sleep in the same bed on Radiant Garden all the time."

Hadn't Riku used that same argument the first night? Why was he so freaked out? What was so different now? Studying Leon's silhouette, he felt a tightening in his stomach and he remembered why this was different.

He'd never wanted the man this badly before. Maybe he was ready…

"Cloud's not going to be speaking to me tomorrow." Leon sat on the edge of the bed. "Not that I blame him. That was completely uncalled for."

Sora bit his lip. "So did you and Cloud…?"

He ran a hand through his sable hair. "It was only a few times and there really wasn't anything behind it. We were just venting some frustration. And no, he wasn't with Riku at the time."

"Oh." The teen whispered. He really wasn't too sure how he felt about that. He knew that Leon had been with others but they were all from before. At least he had assumed that. "Have there, well, have there…?"

"Not since Rinoa."

Sora slowly nodded, suddenly feeling much better. He came over and sat beside Leon. Hands folded before him, he considered his next words carefully. He had to decide and he had to do it now. What did _he_ want?

"I, I think," Sora stumbled. Why couldn't he just _say_ it? I want to be with you. It shouldn't be that difficult.

Leon was watching him now and a faint smile tugged the corner of his mouth. He leaned over and kissed Sora softly. The teen's hands came up to tangle in his hair. Leon only held this position for a minute. He pulled away and stroked Sora's cheek. "Not yet. Don't rush it, Sora. I meant what I said."

"I want to be-"

"I know." Leon smirked but it was teasingly. "I can tell but I want you to be completely certain. I don't want there to be any doubts."

Sora felt something swirl in his chest and wasn't aware he had spoken until he realized Leon was staring at him. There was something complicated and wonderful reflected in those grey eyes. "You love me?"

Had he said that? He didn't remember opening his mouth but as soon as he heard the question, he knew it was true. He grinned lopsidedly. "Yeah, don't make me say it again."

A full smile lit that beautiful face and Leon didn't hold back, pressing in and devouring the smaller one's mouth, then his jaw, his neck, his shoulders. He turned a bit on his knee as Sora fell back on the bed, hands gripping Leon's waist pushing up fabric to touch skin.

Perhaps he was more ready than he thought.

Riku listened carefully as Cloud explained his brief liaisons with his best friend. He found that he really wasn't all that upset about it, at least not for the reasons most would expect. Yes, was perturbed that he had never been told but since it clearly didn't mean anything to either one he understood why they hadn't bothered to mention it. And it wasn't like he had been cheated on.

The only thing that was troubling him right now was how Sora was going to take this. Would knowing that Leon could get horny enough to fuck his best friend push Sora into something he wasn't ready for? And much as they teased him about it, they all knew Sora wasn't quite prepared for a full fledged sexual relationship.

Riku really did admire Leon for his restraint. The man had to really love Sora.

Cloud had finished speaking and was waiting tersely for Riku's response. It was still very dark but the teen's eyes had adjusted enough to see shadows and shapes. Maybe all that time in darkness had been useful.

Time to make Cloud sweat. "So am I correct in assuming that, since it was simply a release of pent up energy, you didn't enjoy it?"

The blonde waited a moment. "Uh, well…"

"So you did." Riku kept his voice carefully neutral. "Tell me, how was it? Did he totally dominate you or did he let you have control? He seems the type who could go either way."

"Riku."

"What, don't I have the right to know?" Riku slid off the desk and crossed the room. He pushed Cloud back with one hand and climbed up to straddle his hips. He dropped his voice to a husky whisper. "So how was it?"

Cloud bit his lip, clearly torn between answering and keeping quiet.

Riku spread his fingers across his chest, pressing in. He leaned forward speaking directly into Cloud's ear, warm breath caressing the shell. "Did you even bother with foreplay or did you just," he pressed his hips down roughly earning a loud moan, "get to it?"

Cloud turned his head but Riku took hold of his chin and forced it back. "Oh no, you're gonna talk or you won't get anything tonight. Now you don't want that do you?"

He ran his tongue along the blonde's jaw line. Cloud remained defiant but the resolve was quickly crumbling. While he was normally the dominant one, these rare occasions when Riku took charge thrilled him like nothing else.

He knew he wasn't going to last but damn it all he was going to put up a fight.

Sora whimpered as Leon's tongue did unspeakable things to his collarbone. His shirt was clearly getting away by the way the neck of it was being yanked on. He managed to sit up enough that Leon took the hint and moved to pull it off.

It got itself caught on Sora's crown necklace however and they both worked to detangle the chain. Once that was accomplished, Leon was back on him. Sora wanted to touch as much of the other as he could, pushing up fabric, hands gliding across firm abdominal muscles.

Leon pulled away, lifting his own shirt off revealing that chest that Sora was so taken with. He traced hard lines, delighting in the shiver that overtook the older man. He moved his hands up, over shoulders. He wanted to run his thumb over those moist lips.

It ended up in Leon's nose.

"Oh, jeeze. I'm sorry." He almost laughed.

Leon merely grunted. "It's fine."

He captured Sora's mouth in another intense kiss and the younger one brought his hands up to frame his face. This time, he somehow managed to poke him in the eye.

Leon drew back in pain, scrunching the left side of his face. Yes, it was dark but damn the kid was a klutz.

"Oh, man!" Sora apologized again.

"I'm alright just…" He took hold of both of Sora's hands and placed them flat against the mattress. "Keep these here."

The spiky brunette whined. "But-"

Leon hushed him with a finger to his soft lips. "Just enjoy this night."

Sora nodded and an idea came to his mind. He'd seen this in a movie once. He leaned his head up and took that finger pressed to his lips into his mouth, lightly sucking on it.

He never thought he'd hear Leon moan like that.

Things speed up considerably then. With renewed vigor, Leon attacked Sora's smooth chest, lips and tongue lavishing every bit of skin it could get to. When the smaller body began rolling into his thigh, he reached down to tug at the waist of those baggy shorts.

Sora whimpered and those blue eyes pleaded with him to do _something_. Leon fumbled with the fastening for a few minutes, fingers slipping on the material now damp with sweat. "Damn it."

"Wait," Sora had the presence of mind to reach down and undo his own shorts. He tried to tug them off but Leon halted him.

"Hands." He ordered and Sora returned them to their place. His lower lip jutted out and Leon chuckled. "Don't like the rules? We can stop this whenever you want."

"No!" He sat up in a panic, butting heads with the other.

They both shouted in pain, placing a hand to the respective foreheads. Sora seemed on the verge of tears. "Oh, man. I'm just totally messing all this up!"

Leon took a long breath. "It's okay, Sora. It's not expected to be perfect every time."

Sora fell back against the bed. "I'm sorry."

"Sora." Leon licked his lips, staring down at the flushed teen beneath him. Those lust filled blue eyes were rapidly becoming clouded with embarrassment. He couldn't let that happen. "You are… incredible. Nothing you do will make me stop wanting you."

There was a moment of disbelief that melted away along with the embarrassment. He nodded once. "I want you, too."

That was enough for Leon. He managed to remove Sora's shorts and pressed the length of his body along his. Sora gasped and his hands simply refused to stay in place any more. He gripped Leon's waist, fingers hooking under the leather. "I want to feel you."

Leon was more than willing to oblige. He got up on his knees and attacked the fastening. The two buttons came undone easily, Sora staring wide eyed at the tiny bit of new skin that was revealed to him. That stirring that had been steadily building threatened to burst.

He wanted, needed to see more.

Leon debated teasing the younger one a bit but didn't want to risk another outburst. Damn that kid's head was hard. And on the subject of hard, these leather pants were getting rather uncomfortable.

Keeping his eyes locked on Sora's face, which was focused on Leon's hands, he tugged at the zipper.

Then frowned.

He gave another good tug but the zipped refused to move. He tried a different angle and nothing. Nothing he did got the metal to budge.

Sora lifted his head carefully. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, come on." Leon muttered, still messing with the fastening.

"It's stuck?"

"No. It's just…"

"Let me try." Sora reached up and began playing with the zipper. His hands were so close Leon couldn't help the shivers that racked his body. He was already fighting to keep control.

After a few more minutes, Sora was having no more success than Leon had. "It's not going to budge."

"Fuck!" The sable haired one slammed his fist down on the mattress.

Sora looked at him. Suddenly he started giggling. Whether it was from the un-realness of the situation or pent up sexual tension he didn't know but this whole thing was striking him as extremely funny.

Leon glared at the wall for a long minute, then he too laughed. He fell to the bed beside Sora. "I think the mood has been completely killed."

"Yeah." Sora agreed. "I think we're gonna have to cut those open."

"I like this pair." Leon grumbled.

"Are those the same one's you wore the other day?" Sora glanced over and down.

"Yeah, why?"

Sora laughed harder. "Leather swells a bit when really wet. I bet the zipper got all messed up because of that. It's one of the reasons people around here don't wear leather."

"That's ridiculous." Leon snorted.

"You got a better explanation?"

Actually he didn't and he did know that moisture, especially salty water like sweat, did warp leather. What Sora said was probably true. Damn the tropics.

"There should be a pair of scissors in the bathroom." Sora got up and headed in that direction, taking the candle with him. Some rummaging was heard and he returned, triumph on his candle lit face. "If we cut them close enough, my mom can probably put a new zipper on it."

"Forget it." The pants were ruined anyway. "Give me those. I'm not letting you anywhere near that area with a sharp instrument."

Sora grinned sheepishly and handed over the scissors.

Leon made one long tearing cut along the metal and tossed the cutting utensil to the other side of the room. He stood and tugged the leather off not bothering to note Sora's reaction. The moment was dead anyway.

He threw them in the same general direction as the scissors. "I guess we call it a night. It's still pouring out there."

"It'll rain all night." Sora commented. He scooched up the bed and pulled the blankets down under him. Leon followed shortly, blowing out the candle.

As soon as he was in, Sora pressed up against him. He snuggled into Leon's chest, sighing when the man wrapped his arms around him. "I'm sorry tonight didn't…"

"Don't be." Leon held his boyfriend close. "They'll be other times."

"Definitely." Sora yawned. "Night, Leon. Love you."

The sable haired man grinned, though he knew the other wouldn't see it. "Good night, Sora."


	10. Chapter 10

Hehe… don't know when I'll get back to this one….

The patter of rain on the roof greeted Sora as he slowly and reluctantly awoke. He felt so fantastically comfortable the last thing he wanted to do was wake up. He sighed lightly as he snuggled closer to the large body of warmth beside him.

The arms that encircled him tightened.

A content noise came from Leon that Sora grinned at. This was how he always wanted to wake up, safely secured in Leon's arms, nothing but total peace between them. He didn't even feel bad about last night any more. He knew he was ready for it whenever the right moment came.

"Morning," Leon mumbled, still half-asleep. His hand had reached up to run through Sora's disheveled spikes of hair.

"Hi." The brunette replied, not bothering to move. "It's still raining."

"I can hear that."

"I really wish my mom wasn't here." Sora murmured against his chest.

"Why's that?"

Sora lifted his head enough to look at him shyly. "Because I really just wanna stay in bed with you."

Leon laughed softly. "So go ahead and do it. None of them will care."

"I will." The teen spoke grudgingly. "I don't care what she says or how she acts, she's still _my mom_, you know?"

"I guess."

"You guess?"

"I grew up in an orphanage, remember? Edea was our matron and very kind but she wasn't our mother. I can't really say I get what you're talking about."

"Oh, right."

"Hey," Leon shifted a bit, moving Sora up so that the boy's face was closer to his. "Don't be getting all depressed on me now."

"I'm not." Sora protested. To prove his point, he stretched up and placed a rather deep kiss on the older man. When he pulled away, he bit his lip.

"I think that's the first _real_ kiss you've ever initiated." Leon commented softly.

"I think so." Sora agreed.

Some banging echoed up through the floor from downstairs. The radio started up and Selphie's loud, out-of-tune singing accompanied it. The couple looked at each other with exasperated expressions.

"I think they're trying to tell us something."

Leon smirked. "Give it two minutes."

The spiky-haired brunette grinned. He understood exactly what Leon meant. He snuggled up closer, hand spreading across Leon's bare chest. He made a soft mewl of contentment as Leon lightly rubbed at the hair at the back of his head.

"Selphie! If you don't shut that infernal mouth of yours, I am gonna shut it for you!"

Sora busted out laughing and Leon snickered. "Well, Riku's up."

"Yep." Sora looked up. "I kinda wanna see."

"Well, go then." Leon released him. "I don't want you to ever accuse me of holding you back from some thing."

Sora got out of bed, tugging on Leon's hand as he did. "Come on. You should see this too."

"I'll pass. I've seen Riku and Yuffie." The older one did stand however. He stretched languidly, muscles pulling and naked body fully exposed for the first time. "I think I will take a _very_ long shower however."

Sora was staring with undisguised desire. That man's body was perfect. He hadn't been able to really look at it last night. He managed to snap himself out of it and gave his boyfriend an evil look. "You're mean."

"How so?" Leon walked toward the bathroom. "I'm not stopping you from anything."

Sora bit his lip, suddenly _very_ aware of his own body and its reaction to the other one. He was tempted to follow after Leon but he knew exactly where that would lead and for what ever reason, he didn't want his first time to be pressed up against a tile wall.

Now, after a few times….

"See you downstairs." Sora laughed thickly.

Leon shrugged at him, the barest trace of a frown on his face.

Sora noticed it and tilted his head a moment before walking over to the taller man. He stood on the balls of his feet and placed a light kiss upon him. He pulled back and smiled. "Next time, okay?"

Leon understood the implication and nodded once. "I'm going to hold you to that."

"It's a promise." The teen bit his lip, glancing down. "Damn, you're… yeah."

That well known smirk appeared. "And it's all yours."

Sora blushed and turned away. He needed to get out of here _now._ "Go shower."

He opened the door to Riku throwing open his. Selphie hadn't stopped singing. He shot a glare at Sora, manic grin on his normally calm face. "I'm gonna kill her."

"I figured." Sora chuckled. "I was coming down to watch."

The manic grin went into an insane smile. "Wanna help instead?"

--o—

Cloud narrowed his eyes questioningly when Riku, followed by Sora, re-entered the room. "I thought you were silencing Selphie."

"We are." Riku was perfectly calm. Despite the rain still pouring down, he slid open his window and began climbing out. "Make sure we have dry clothes ready."

Sora moved to follow him out. He gave the blonde man a quick 'morning' before he too climbed over the sill.

Cloud really didn't want to know.

He searched Riku's closet for fresh clothes, laying them out on the bed. After that he went down the hall to the room Sora had been staying in. The door was half open so he simply slipped in figuring he'd just grab some clothes and leave.

Tidus was lying on the bed over the blankets, staring at the ceiling. He raised his head long enough to glance at the intruder. "Sora's stuff is in the dresser by the window."

"Thanks." Cloud said quietly. He went were directed and took out a shirt and pair of shorts. Shutting the drawer, he turned to leave.

Tidus was watching him, a slight frown on his face.

Cloud wasn't normally a confrontational type, unless it was Sephiroth, but Selphie had put Riku in a foul mood and that in turn put Cloud in a bad mood. "What?"

"Nothing." The blonde teen snapped.

"Look, if you want to see that girl, go. Who's going to stop you?"

"There are _rules_ and I'm not gonna risk messing up everything by breaking them!" Tidus sat up. "All of you are being selfish but I guess that doesn't matter to you." He turned his head. "Riku always was a self-centered jerk."

Tidus suddenly found himself nose-to-nose with blazing blue eyes being held up by his shirt. Cloud's voice had dropped to a mere whisper. "You are clearly upset so I will forgive that comment this once. I hear anything like that again and you will lose the ability to speak."

Cloud released the teen who fell back on to the mattress. He silently left the room.

He tossed the clothes onto Riku's bed as he passed the room and went to the third bedroom. He didn't bother knocking, simply walking in a sitting on the bed. The shower was running so he waited. He wasn't quite sure why he was but he did it any way.

The water shut off after a few minutes and shortly after that, Leon emerged with towel wrapped loosely around his hips. He paused for a second before continuing past to search for clothes. "You aren't the head of spiky hair I was hoping to see."

"What the hell was last night about?"

Leon sighed. He knew this was going to come up this morning but he was hoping to at least get some coffee in him beforehand. He turned and leaned on the dresser, still clad only in his towel. He folded his arms and studied the carpeting.

"I don't know. I know it was uncalled for." He glanced up through the strands of sable hair that fell before his eyes. "Though you should have told him."

"Don't change the subject."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"……….."

"Don't be getting all silent on me." The older one snarled. "Answer my question."

"……….."

A sudden, eardrum shattering squeal from downstairs broke up the confrontation. This was followed by hysterical laughing and the loud sounds of two teenaged boys rushing up the stairs. They were all grins and breathless chuckles.

Then they passed the open room. Both paused and looked in with concern. They took silent appraisal of the situation, glanced at one another and Sora nodded. Riku then stepped forward and took hold of Leon's arm.

"Come on." He managed to push the man out, calling over his shoulder. "Reconvene in twenty."

"Got it." Sora shut the door behind him. He walked over to Cloud, who was still sitting on the bed. "These my clothes?"

Cloud waved vaguely at them. He was clearly pissed.

Sora took the clothes and headed for the small bathroom. "Do you have any idea how happy Riku is that you're here?"

"Yes."

"Good." The brunette quickly striped off his soaked clothes, shivering for a second before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his damp skin. He poked his head out to make certain Cloud was still there. "You know Leon didn't mean to be cruel by saying what he did."

"It was completely uncalled for." Cloud kept his voice even but there was a tightness to it.

"And he knows that. He knew it after he said it." Sora frowned. "It's my fault he did and for that I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at him."

"It isn't your fault. You didn't tell him to say it. You didn't even ask the question that sparked it."

"No," Sora agreed slowly. "But I'm the reason he's so frustrated."

Cloud looked up at him. Something had changed with the teen over night. He sounded very sure about himself and there was a new maturity behind his words.

Sora had warmed up some by now and he began dressing. "I do intend to do something about that very soon."

--0—0—

Leon glared daggers at the back of Riku's head. He was unceremoniously shoved toward the still unmade bed. Then Riku proceeded to remove his clothes as if Leon wasn't even there.

"You know you were wrong."

The glare intensified.

"We all know why you did it, too." Riku's voice hardened, contradicting the slight tremor that ran down his spine as the air hit his pale damp skin. "Don't take your frustration out on Cloud."

"I tried to apologize."

"And?"

Leon sighed. "I didn't do a very good job of it."

"I'm not surprised." Riku, now re-pantsed, turned. His eyes held a curious look. "Did it accomplish anything?"

Somehow Leon understood what Riku was implying. He scowled. "It would have."

"Would have?" Riku echoed. A smirking smile lit his face. "Do tell."

"Not your business."

"Oh come on. You know I'll just get Sora to tell me."

"Then let Sora tell you." Leon stood. "Can I go now?"

"I wouldn't go downstairs just yet." Riku opened his door, shirt in hand. Across the hall, Sora was doing the same. "Seiya will still be fixing Selphie."

Sora bit his lip, twisting a amused smile. "I can't believe how well that worked."

"Why? We're the fucking best team in the worlds." Riku and Sora smacked their knuckles together.

"Hey, guys." The small group looked down the hall to where Tidus was standing. He looked a bit disheartened and his voice was rather quiet. "Cloud still up here?"

"Uh, yeah." Sora tilted his head. "He's in here."

"Good." Tidus came forward, brushing past the brunette teen to enter the room. Everyone watched from the doorway as he walked up to the older blonde. "I'm sorry for my attitude earlier."

Cloud gazed at him for a moment before nodding.

Tidus then left the room and went downstairs. The three who had been watching stared after him for a moment before turning in near unison back to the room. Cloud came up to them and as he passed, he hit Leon in the chest. "See how easy that was?"

Then he followed the path Tidus took.

Riku snorted and pulled on his shirt. "Ah this is gonna be a fun day."

--0—0—

The day actually was rather quiet. The storm continued into late evening, with a few periods of relative calm. Selphie and Tidus left during one of these and someone came for Kairi in the early evening. Seiya and Leon made dinner for the remaining, who lounged about lazily around the downstairs.

Things weren't terse in the house per say but there was a noticeable tension in the air. Riku spent most of his time up in his windowsill drawing. Sora was poorly disguising his rather heated looks at Leon who was seemingly ignoring them as he talked with Seiya.

When the two left for the kitchen, he stood and went to lean against the wall near Riku. "Is it always like this?"

"The constant desire to get into the other's pants whether it's appropriate or not?" Riku spoke idly. "Yeah."

Cloud glanced over from his card game with Wakka. "It won't get a whole lot better either."

"Great." Sora groaned. "I really wish Mom wasn't here."

"Think of it as an added thrill." Riku bit his lip, studying his drawing. "I really wish the power would come back up. It's getting too dark for this."

"What are you drawing?" Wakka asked.

Riku shrugged, continuing his work.

"What is it with artists and not wanting to reveal what their doing until it's finished?" Wakka shook his head.

"Riku won't tell us even then." Sora pouted.

"Oh, good. I'm not the only one." Cloud tossed his cards down. "I'm out."

"Food's done." Seiya sang, waltzing from the kitchen followed closely by Leon. Dinner was fresh wraps of mostly vegetables with a few strips of chicken. This was eaten in near silence. As the room darkened, candles were slowly lit.

"So what activities do we have planned for tonight?" Seiya asked cheerfully.

"Hopefully not another truth game." Wakka spoke around his last bite of food. "Last night was a bit too Breakfast Club, ya."

"True."

"I say we pass on the group activities." Leon stood, collecting plates.

"Oh what's the fun in that?" Seiya's pout looked exactly like Sora's. "Ooh, I have an idea!"

Leon tuned her out as she began explaining. He briefly caught Sora's eye before taking the empty plates to the kitchen. Sure enough, the brunette followed him shortly after.

"Mom is such a freakin' teenager." Sora complained dropping into a chair at the table. "I love her but she can be so… I don't know but she is."

After the plates were disposed of, Leon came around to stand behind his boyfriend. He rubbed at Sora's shoulder, to which the boy groaned loudly and let his head fall back. Leon flicked his eyes to the window. "I've always liked the rain."

"So does Riku." Sora whispered around a sigh of bliss. "We used to play out on the back porch when it rained."

"There's a covered porch out there?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go." He released Sora's shoulders, ignoring the little noise of protest. Opening the back door, there was indeed a wooden deck with awning. It was still damp back here but for the most part the rain was kept out.

Sora followed him out, watching as the remaining wind tugged at the man's shoulder length hair. Leon walked all the way to the far end and braced his hands on the railing. There was something incredibly sexy about it and Sora bit his lip.

Leon turned to face him and Sora was completely undone.

"What?"

Sora slowly stepped forward, still chewing on his lower lip. He was tired of waiting for the right moment. There was never going to be a right moment. And right now simply seemed perfect.

Right up until Leon jumped from the railing with a loud curse. He began brushing at his arm frantically. "Fuck! What the hell was that?"

Sora hastened his steps and told hold of Leon's arm. Tiny red marks where starting to appear on his hand and along his lower arm. The teen glanced at the rail and sighed in exasperation. "Oh for the love of everything good! This is never gonna happen."

He turned away back toward the house. "Come on. Once again you kill the moment."

"I did?" He was still scratching at his hand.

"Well, the fire ants did. Stop scratching, it'll get worse."

"Fire ants?" Leon forcibly removed his fingers from his itching hand and forearm. He stepped across the threshold and sat in the chair Sora had earlier vacated.

"Yep, though what they were doing there I have no idea." Sora was rummaging through the fridge. "Damnit, there's no beer left."

"What do want a beer for?" Riku came through the door from the front room.

"Fire ant bites."

"Who?" Riku looked over to the man at the table. "Leon? How the hell did that happen?"

"Apparently you have an ant problem." Leon muttered.

Sora shut the fridge. "They're crawling all over the back rail."

"Great. I'll take care of them in the morning." Riku ducked his head through the door he just came through. "Hey, Cloud, you got anything left in that bottle? I need it."

A faint "Why?" was heard.

"Leon got into some fire ants."

A loud laugh that sounded suspiciously like Wakka rang out. "Man, how'd he do that?"

Seiya was giggling as she entered the kitchen with a nearly empty beer bottle. "You should know better than to play in the dirt, Sora. Especially when there's a perfectly good bed upstairs."

"It wasn't like that!" Sora stomped his foot. "I'd be the one with ant bites!"

Riku snickered and waited for Sora to realize what he just said. Leon was also watching him with interest as Seiya grabbed a clean dishtowel and soaked it in beer. She placed it on Leon's hand and squeezed tightly.

Sora suddenly flushed a deep red. "Oh Gods that sounded bad."

"That went beyond sounding bad." Leon ran a calculating eye over him. "Definitely answered one of my questions."

"I knew you were a bottom."

"Shut up, Riku!" Thankfully his mom remained silent. He could not take hearing anything from her right now.

Leon took over holding the cloth and he mumbled a thanks to Seiya who simply smiled and stood up. She passed Sora, lightly picking at his hair and patting his cheek. Then she left.

"Well that was weird." Sora commented, stepping over to Leon.

Riku sighed. "You really don't get her, do you?"

"Huh?" Sora blinked.

"You wanted her to back off and she is." Riku pushed off from the counter. "I hope it helps."

When he too was gone, Sora frowned. "Now I feel kinda bad."

"You'll work it out with her." Leon repositioned the cloth. "The two of you just need to figure out a balance."

"I guess." He moved a bit of hair from Leon's face and ran a finger tip along the scar on the bridge of his nose. "Does it feel better yet?"

"Humm?" Leon had let his eyes fall shut.

"Your hand."

"Oh, yeah. It still burns but the itch is gone."

"That will last for awhile. No one's found a good way to stop that." Sora's fingers continued to trace the man's face.

"It's annoying."

"Yep." Sora agreed. He brushed a fingertip along Leon's lips. That finger was captured by a warm, moist mouth. A very audible groan escaped him as a shot of energy ran its way through him.

Grey eyes slitted open to gaze hungrily at him.

Sora simply nodded.


	11. Chapter 11

Riku returned to the living room and flopped down beside Cloud. The blonde man rubbed his thigh affectionately in an absent manner. He gave himself a moment to enjoy the feeling before looking to the other two. "So have we decided what we're doing, if anything?"

"Naw," Wakka waved a hand.

"All right then." Riku pursed his lips for a moment. "So I guess it's entertain yourself night."

Leon came out of the kitchen, holding Sora's hand. He did not stop to say anything or even look at them as he towed Sora toward the stairs. Sora did not seem to be seeing anything but Leon's backside. They went up the stairs and disappeared.

After a minute of silence, Cloud muttered, "Finally."

"What do you think is going to interrupt them this time?" Riku chuckled.

Seiya shook her head. There was an odd look on her face, "Hopefully nothing."

Riku glanced at her, "You all right?"

"Oh, I'm fine." Riku swore there were tears in her eyes. "It's just…"

"You're little boy is becoming a man?" He smirked.

"Oh, you've both grown up so fast!" She wailed suddenly. "All of you kids have."

Wakka shifted uncomfortably when she looked at him. "Now are you going to tell me about these girls you and Tidus are so hung up on?"

Riku and Cloud turned their attention on him also.

The blitzball player rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it's complicated, ya?"

"We've got time," Riku commented in an easy tone. "Your story can't be any worse than Sora's and mine."

Wakka gave him a pointed look. "Tidus and I don't actually know _your_ story."

Riku bit his lip. That was true, and it was not exactly fair of him to demand to know what happened to them when he had flat out refused to speak to them about his. "I promise to talk to you both about it later."

The redhead nodded slowly, obviously collecting his thoughts. "Ya, well, I don't know how it all happened. The night of the storm Tidus and I were walking home from practice, it got pitch black out and we starting running. Something about it just freaked us, ya?

"As we ran we saw these weird shadowy things, Tidus stumbled and I tripped over him and next thing we knew, we were on the beach with the sun shining down and everything looked normal." Wakka blew out a breath. "Only it _wasn't_ normal, mon. We figured we had some how ended up on one for the other islands but it was none we'd ever seen before.

"Then we were approached by some people from the nearby village and we knew we weren't on Destiny Islands anymore. Man, did Tidus freak. I mean, I about flipped out too, who wouldn't, ya?"

Riku and Cloud both nodded. They were both familiar with waking up in a strange place. At least Wakka and Tidus had managed to stay together.

"We were taken in by one of the families and told we were in a place called Besaid and the world was named Spira." Suddenly Wakka's eyes lit up, "And they had blitz, man! I think that helped more than anything, something familiar, ya. So, we joined the team and did a tournament with them.

"That's when we met Yuna and Lulu. Yuna is a summoner; their job is to stop Sin from consuming the planet. Lulu is one of her guardians, along with a guy named Kimahri."

"What's Sin?" asked Seiya, blue eyes wide as she listened to the tale.

"Sin is… it's hard to explain." Wakka leaned back, placing both hands behind his head. "Actually, Tidus really knows a lot more about this."

"Tidus isn't exactly being rational about it right now;" Riku noted.

"I know. That's the only reason I'm doin' this. Tidus is goin' to go ballistic when he finds out."

"He's that worried about messing things up?"

"Auron and Lulu were very clear that this wasn't to be talked about."

"Well, just give us the basics." Seiya said soothingly. "Obviously we're not going to say anything."

"I know." Wakka collected his thoughts. "Sin is a dark power, a monster really that tried to destroy the world. It was stopped every fifteen years or so by a summoner who had collected Aeons, which are special powers. Once the summoner got the Final Aeon, it was used to destroy Sin. Only Sin never actually died, it only went away for a while."

"Well that seems pointless," Cloud commented. "Why didn't someone try to find a way to kill it?"

"Because the cycle had gone on for so long it was believed that there was no way to kill it," Wakka explained. "Yuna was the current summoner and she traveled with us for a while, searching her last few aeons. Tidus and her grew really close."

"…And you hooked up with Lulu," Seiya surmised.

"Yeah," The redhead grinned a bit. It quickly fell. "Tidus is the one who found out what happened to those who went up against Sin. Auron explained it to him after Luca…"

"What happens?" Riku asked quietly.

"The Final Aeon is obtained by sacrificing someone close to the summoner. When it's used, the summoner dies and the person sacrificed eventually becomes the new Sin."

Both Riku and Cloud leaned back. Cloud blew out a breath. "Wow; that's…"

"…Really messed up," Riku finished.

Seiya sighed, looking like she wanted to get up and hug the teen telling the story.

"Yeah; Well, Tidus wasn't going to let that happen. We came up with a plan after talking to Lady Yunalesca to not get the final Aeon and attack Sin head on."

"What made you think you could?" Cloud asked.

Wakka shrugged. "Again, you'd have to ask Tidus about that. All I know is that's what we did. We somehow ended up _inside_ of Sin and fought the spirits within it, releasing them to the Farplace."

"Farplace?"

"Basically, heaven…Or Hades…The afterlife," Wakka clarified. "This in turn sent Sin there and ended the cycle."

Wakka stared down, dropping his hands into his lap. "After that, Auron explained what he believed happened to us and that we needed to go back to where we belonged. That the worlds were not meant to be connected and that if we stayed, it could lead to terrible consequences."

"…And so you were returned here;" Riku bit his lip.

"Yes."

The group was quiet for several minutes, letting what they had just heard process. There were several holes in the story, but they all knew enough now to understand Tidus' recent behavior. They did not need to know any more.

Riku looked at his friend sadly. "I'm sorry. If we had known…"

"We should have told you, ya." Wakka waved his apology off. "I mean, you're the Keybearers, man. The normal rules don't apply to you, ya."

Riku seemed very distraught about all of this. He sat tersely and continued frowning. Cloud silently rubbed Riku's back.

A loud banging from upstairs broke the silence and the entire room looked up. Another thump followed, along with what sounded like Sora giggling. Then it was quiet again.

"Do we want to know what's going on up there?" Wakka asked.

Seiya sighed and shook her head. "He's going to be a virgin forever."

"That or he's going to be the kinky type." Riku smirked. There was suddenly another bang, followed by a series of thumps. "I'm starting to think the latter."

Wakka snickered but that sad look was still in his eyes. He turned toward the window. "Hey, the rain stopped."

"Oh good;" Seiya stood and went over. She placed a reassuring hand on the redhead's shoulder as she looked out also. "Then you'll be able to go out tomorrow."

"Kairi's dinner thing is tomorrow." Riku noted.

Cloud groaned. "I like Kairi but can we just… skip that. I really hate even semi-formal affairs."

Seiya glanced over her shoulder with a curious smile. "Oh, I hear a story there."

Cloud shrugged.

"There is!" She fell to the floor beside Wakka. "Oh, tell!"

Riku leaned back into the arm of the couch. "Yeah, I want to hear this too."

The blonde man sighed. "I've never been comfortable with social settings. When I went to Midgar, I kept to myself and only interacted with those necessary. Then Zack found me."

"Found you?" Seiya raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, literally;" Cloud's lip curled a bit at the memory. "A few of the other recruits had really taken to ganging up on me. They would taunt me until I lost my temper and then when I'd lash out, they would jump me. Individually I could have taken them but as a group, there was no way, at least at that time.

"After one of these attacks, I managed to drag myself to the roof where I always went to fix myself up. I had a stash of medical supplies stored in one of the vents. I never went to the infirmary because obviously I didn't want any one to know about it. They had been rather through and I was having a real hard time focusing.

"Then all the sudden there was someone there, wiping the blood from my face. Zack didn't say a word as he took over fixing my wounds. I knew he was one of the SOLDIERs that were charged with preparing us but he had been assigned to the more advanced group.

"When he finished, he only told me his name was Zack and from that day on I was stuck with him." Cloud shrugged a little.

"Now, who exactly is Zack?" Seiya asked, tucking some hair behind her ear.

"His ex;" answered Riku.

"Oh." She nodded slowly. "Well, continue."

"Zack was very much the opposite of me. He was outgoing and friendly, you couldn't help but like him. Most people could not believe he was a First Class, let alone Sephiroth's second-in-command. Zack made it his goal to socialize me properly, so he was constantly getting me assigned to Shinra's social events. I don't remember how many balls, award ceremonies, and unveilings I had to attend.

"…And Zack, he wasn't content with me simply being there doing my job. I had to _participate_ and if I didn't, he found some way to horribly embarrass me." Cloud frowned. "I don't know why I put up with it."

"Because you loved him;" Riku shrugged. He was totally comfortable saying that too. "Why do any of us put up with crazy people's antics?"

"...Because we're all secretly insane?" Leon's voice sounded from the bottom of the stairs. He was bare-chested and his hair was totally disheveled. He continued walking toward the kitchen.

"So?" Riku watched him curiously.

When Leon turned, he found all eyes on him. He only smirked and when into the kitchen. He got the item he came for and returned to the stairs, ignoring the stares that were following him.

"Cloud?" asked Riku slowly. "Was that what I thought it was?"

"Yes."

Riku chuckled. "Guess I called it on the kinky thing."

"What did he have?" Wakka feigned disinterest but was clearly as curious as Seiya.

"Whipped cream."

--0—0—

Leon shut the door behind him. He made his way to the bed, where he laid out beside Sora. With an amused smirk, he handed over the can of whipped cream. "That was genius."

The younger one grinned. "I bet they're going nuts now."

"Definitely;" While they had originally come up here with very different intentions, it had become obvious to Leon rather quickly that Sora was still uneasy. They had fumbled through some intense making out but after Sora fell off the bed, they had decided to cool it down.

The couple had instead decided to play mind games with the group downstairs.

Sora bit his lip, sitting up. "Wait, did you notice if Riku had any cherries?"

"He had chocolate syrup."

The boy's blue eyes lit up, "Oooh."

"If you want it then you go get it." Leon laid flat on his back.

"If I go down there, Riku's gonna totally know we're messing with them!" Sora protested. "He can freakin' read me like a book!"

Leon glanced at him. He took hold of Sora's shirt and yanked him down. Engaging the younger one in a passionate kiss, he brought his other hand around to caress Sora's lower back dipping his fingers below the waistband of the smaller one's shorts. After a moment, he leaned up switching their positions and pressing his body down.

Sora moaned and Leon pulled away. He returned to his position. "Now go."

Sora was clearly flushed and it took him a second to gather his wits, "Uh, yeah."

He got up and with a heated glance over his shoulder, slipped out the door. He padded downstairs, trying not to look at Riku. Not that he really had to worry; his best friend was clearly preoccupied with Cloud's neck.

In his quick sweep of the room, he noticed his mother was missing. He went to the kitchen but she was not there either. He went back to the main room. "Where's Mom?"

"She left with Wakka." Riku took a moment to answer before reattaching himself to his lover's neck.

His mom was gone…? Sora bit his lip and glanced upstairs. He knew that her presence was what had been making him so awkward. Just having her in the house had made him horribly nervous but if she was gone…

He felt Riku's eyes on him. The older teen had again paused in his efforts to give Sora an encouraging smile. "It's never going to be perfect."

Sora half-smiled back; "Right…"

He then returned upstairs. Pausing outside the door, he knew he had to make a decision. Riku was correct, there was not going to be a perfect moment. If he wanted this, he was going to have to make it happen.

He opened the door enough to dart on, shutting it softly behind him. Leon was still lying on the bed, eyes shut. It looked like he had fallen asleep. Well, that figured.

He blew out the candles lighting the room, leaving the small electric lantern in the corner on. Striping off his clothes down to his boxers, he laid down beside the taller man. He supposed he could have gone back to the smaller room he had been using but it did not feel right.

He snuggled up against Leon's warm body, draping an arm across his waist. Leon shifted a bit, pulling Sora closer and wrapping him in his arms tightly. With a light sigh of contentment, Sora let his eyes fall shut.

This was where he wanted to be.

--0—0—

Okay, I _know_ it seems this has moved away from the original intention. _But_ this is a full visit and it can't be all fun and games. The fun stuff will be returning next chapter, I promise. Thanks for sticking with it.


	12. Chapter 12

Sora awoke, opening sleepy eyes to the first real sign of sunlight in two days. He smiled a bit and buried himself further into Leon's chest. Somehow, over the course of the night, he had managed to get himself completely entangled with the older man.

Leon's hand was gripping his hip, fingers falling rather closely to the joint. Those fingers tightened some in response to Sora's movement. The teen bit his lower lip, holding in a sigh. Leon was still asleep and he did not want to wake him.

With a great deal of reluctance, Sora detangled himself from his boyfriend. He slid out of bed and padded over to turn off the lamp. Then he headed for the window. He already knew the day was going to be a scorcher; it always was after the big storms.

He sighed. If it had been bad for Leon before, he was going to die if they went out today.

Suddenly, an idea struck him and he glanced over his shoulder at Leon's sleeping face. With a faint grin to himself, he threw on some clothes and headed downstairs. This was going to be rather embarrassing but he was willing to take it.

In the kitchen, Riku was sitting at the table reading over some papers with a frown. A large glass of juice sat before him that was obviously untouched. He looked worried.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked, sliding into the seat across from his friend.

Riku looked up. He quickly set the papers inside a manila envelope and moved it over. "Oh, nothing important; some more boring legal documents… I swear they're trying to kill me with the stuff."

"How long is all of this gonna take?" Sora waved vaguely.

"I don't know." Riku stood up. He pushed his juice toward Sora. "Here, I don't want it anymore. I'm making coffee."

The brunette took the glass, drinking a good portion in one gulp.

"So what happened last night?" Riku asked quietly, taking out the coffee grinder.

"He fell asleep." Sora sighed.

The older teen laughed. "You two just can't get a break, can you?"

"Well, I kinda wanted to talk to you about that…" Sora traced one of the lines on the table. "I, uh, was wondering what the plan was for today."

"Kairi's dinner is tonight. Other than that, I didn't really have anything." He glanced over his shoulder. "Why?"

"Uh, well…" Sora flattened his hand on the table. "I was kinda wondering if you and Cloud could go out for the day. At least the afternoon...?"

Riku froze. After a moment, he started the coffee brewing and slowly turned. He gave Sora a serious look, searching his face. "Are you certain about this? I know we all like to tease you about it but none of us want you to feel pressured."

Sora met his eyes. "I'm sure."

"Okay." The green eyed one nodded. "Well, I'm sure I can find something for Cloud and I to do. Go to the wharf or something. It's gonna be hotter than hell today…."

"Yeah," the brunette agreed. "If you're gonna be out, Cloud better have different clothes. He'll die in the black."

Riku smirked. "If it weren't for Kairi's thing tonight I'd let him suffer but I don't want to face Kai's wrath."

That was never a good thing.

"I actually went out and bought both Cloud and Leon some clothes a few days ago." Riku retrieved a mug and poured his coffee. "They can wear whatever tonight but I'm going to try my damnest to get Cloud to wear one of the new things now."

"Some how, I doubt you'll have nearly as much trouble as I would." Sora noted. "Cloud's at least willing to listen."

"True." Riku came back overt to the table. He sipped on his coffee, studying his best friend. "You're really serious about Leon, huh?"

Sora bit his lip and nodded. "It's still really weird. I really don't understand how it happened, you know? I mean, I totally get you and Cloud. It makes _sense_ but Leon and me… I don't know."

"Hey, not even Diz was able to truly understand how the heart works."

Sora blew out a little breath. "He was kinda… weird."

"You have no idea." Riku laughed. "And he was a total ass for a while there. There were days when I just wanted to strangle him."

"Who?" asked Cloud sleepily, entering the kitchen.

"Diz."

"Oh," The blonde poured himself some coffee and joined the two at the table, "Leon still sleeping?"

"Yes." Riku grinned a bit at Cloud's messier than usual spikes. He was so adorable after he woke up. "You're going to run errands with me today."

Cloud shrugged indifferently; "Leon and Sora staying here?"

Sora blushed even though no comment had been made as to the potential reasoning for them staying home. Somehow, he knew the Cloud understood the exact reason, "Yeah."

"You know what I would like to do? I always wanted to try fishing." Cloud stated.

"Really?" Riku frowned in thought. "We could do that. I'm really bad at it though."

"So make Tidus go with you." Sora suggested. "He's awesome at it."

"Ah," The couple exchanged glances. Riku tilted his head. "I don't know if Tidus is going to be up to spending any more time with us."

"What, that little outburst the other night?" Sora waved it off. "It doesn't matter. Call him; he'll go. I bet he's over it by now."

Riku seemed very reluctant but he got up and went to get his phone. After several minutes, he returned shaking his head in disbelief. "I am never questioning your judgment again, Sora."

"I told you."

"He and Wakka are on their way over." Riku gave Cloud a look. "Apparently Wakka and him had a talk last night after Wakka left here."

"Good." Cloud finished his coffee and stood. "I better get dressed then."

"You need fishing clothes." Riku stated easily, eyes flicking toward Sora.

"Fishing clothes?"

"Yeah; Fishing can get kinda messy." Sora added, "Especially with Riku."

"Hey! That was one time, Sora! One time!"

"And you haven't gone since."

"Oh, whatever;" Riku sulked, grabbing Cloud's hand. "Come on, they'll be here in a few minutes."

The older teen dragged his boyfriend off and Sora shook his head a little. He really admired those two. They had gone through things no singular person, let alone a couple, should be able to survive and here they were, more devoted to each other than ever. He supposed they were a prime example of the old _whatever does not destroy you will make you stronger adage._

He heard the front door open and Tidus calling out hello. A minute later, the blonde entered the kitchen with Wakka. "Hey, Sora; I can't believe someone like Cloud wants to go fishing."

Sora shrugged. "Well, he suggested it."

Wakka was watching Sora as if waiting for something. There was an almost knowing grin on his face and he raised a ruddy eyebrow questioningly. "So, can we stop picking on you yet, man?"

The brunette groaned, dropping his head in his hands. Wakka simply laughed.

"Hey, where are you guys?"

"They're in here bothering me!" Sora shouted to Riku's inquiry.

Riku came into the kitchen, followed by Cloud. The younger half of the couple had successfully managed to get Cloud into lightweight grey jeans and a red t-shirt. The attire was definitely more appropriate then Cloud's usual wears, especially for being on the wharf all afternoon.

"Hey, guys." Tidus greeted. He smiled but there was a hint of uncertainty in his blue eyes; "Uh, sorry about being an ass."

"You still on that?" Riku cuffed the blonde teen. "That's so yesterday. Now let's get out of here so Sora can have some alone time with Leon."

"Didn't he get that yesterday?" Wakka frowned.

"Apparently not;" The silver-haired one grinned. He winked at Sora's exasperated sigh and began herding people out the back door. "Where's your stuff, Ty?"

"Front stoop. I figured you didn't want my muddy stuff all over the house."

Their voices cut off as the door shut. Sora sat alone at the table for a long time. Squaring his shoulders, he stood and walked out of the kitchen. He headed up the stairs and paused for only a moment before opening the bedroom door.

Leon was sitting on the floor, cross-legged. He held his shoulders straight with his eyes closed, almost as if he were meditating. He only wore loose sleep pants and his shoulder-length hair was pushed back.

Those steel colored eyes cracked open and he smiled a little, "Morning."

"What are you doing?" Sora asked, stepping closer.

"Thinking."

The smaller male climbed into Leon's lap, snuggling into his chest, "About what?"

"A lot of things;" He wrapped his arms around Sora; "You being the main one."

"Me?" Sora frowned. He did not like the sound of this.

"Yes, you."

They fell silent for several minutes, simply holding on to one another. Eventually, Leon moved his hand to run through Sora's spikes of hair. "I never thought I'd care for anyone again after losing Rinoa. I did everything I could to insure it, but you made me feel again. I care more about you than I thought possible."

Sora felt his heart cease. Leon was breaking up with him. That was the only explanation for this. He slowly pulled away but Leon held firm.

"I'm not trying to break up with you." He actually chuckled. "I like having you with me."

"Then what-"

Leon hushed him. "What I'm trying to say is I know you aren't ready for a sexual relationship. You want to be. I bet you came up here all convinced you are, but you're not."

Sora bit his lip.

"You're barely seventeen, Sora. Just because Riku was having sex when he was barely sixteen, which you know I still don't agree with, does not mean you're anything less. You may not be ready for another year. There is a reason most worlds made eighteen the age of consent."

He gently released Sora so that he could look him in the eyes. "I don't care what anyone else says or thinks, until _I_ think you're ready for sex, I'm not having it with you."

Sora almost cried at the relief he suddenly felt. He really had not realized how much he had convinced himself to have sex. Now that he knew without a doubt that it was not expected of him, he felt so much better.

He grinned a bit mischievously at his boyfriend, "But we can still do everything else, right?"

Leon picked him up bodily and tossed him on the bed. He climbed over Sora and leaned in, attacking the teen's slim neck.

--0—0—

Riku paced the waiting room, trying vainly not to laugh. Tidus and Wakka had not bothered to stifle their chuckles. The three teenagers had wisely placed a bit of distance between themselves and their older blonde companion.

The fishing trip had started well enough. They had made the two stops Riku needed to on the way to the wharf. While waiting for him to do whatever he was doing, Tidus had explained to Cloud the fine points of successful fishing. The two blondes had conversed easily and by the time they found what Tidus declared the perfect spot, it appeared Cloud had a rather good grasp of what he needed to do.

The first hour went by smoothly. Cloud had baiting and casting down and, even though he had yet to catch anything himself, seemed quite relaxed simply sitting on the wood overhanging the water. Tidus had of course caught three and on the forth, caught Cloud watching him de-hook the fish from the line.

He proceeded to detail what he was doing and then on his fifth catch, handed everything over to Cloud to let him remove the fish. That turned out to be a mistake. As Cloud tried to hold onto the aquatic creature, it slipped from his grasp. It shot back toward the water but Cloud reached out reflexively to try to seize it.

He grabbed it but overextended himself and ended up in the water.

When he came up, there was a look of pain on his face and he swore something bit his leg. Riku and Wakka had come over and with Tidus, pulled Cloud back on to the dock. A jellyfish had wrapped itself around the blonde man's foot and had attempted to sting him. It only managed a faint mark above the top of his sock.

He had also somehow managed to cut the same leg open on one of the mussels that clung to the dock posts. They were so caught up in the jellyfish sting that no one noticed that in the process of re-catching the fish, he had embedded the hook into his hand. It was not until the on-site medic came over that anyone noticed.

So now here they were, waiting in the hospital to get the hook removed and his cut stitched up. The sting had been treated on location.

Cloud was glaring ahead of him, completely ignoring the three teens. Riku had tried twice to get him to talk but the elder pushed him off. The blonde remained stonily silent.

Riku left him alone for about ten minutes before it was finally too much. He laughed and turned toward his boyfriend. "Oh, come on, Cloud. Laugh a little."

Cloud did not react.

"I swear you're cursed," Riku continued.

"Remember that time I said I would be willing to move here for you?" Cloud nearly spat out. "I take it back."

Riku walked over and dropped before him. He gave him a sympathetic look. After a minute, Cloud's lip twitched a bit. Riku grinned and rubbed his good leg.

"Mr. Strife?"

Cloud carefully stood with Riku's help, crossing to the nurse. Riku gave him a reassuring squeeze on his arm, releasing him to the woman. When they disappeared into the back, the silver-haired teen turned to his two friends.

"Ten Munny says he tries to get the doctor to excuse him from Kairi's dinner tonight," said Tidus.

All three burst out laughing.

--0—0—

Leon and Sora had moved downstairs and were taking turns playing Sora's favorite video game when Riku and Cloud returned. Sora was sitting comfortably in Leon's lap and there was absolutely no tension between them. Sora was just handing over the controller when the other two walked in.

The teen glanced over and gaped. "What happened?"

Riku was doing his best to not hover over Cloud as the blonde walked, or rather limped into the house. He had flat out refused any assistance from anyone or thing. He blue eyes were a bit brighter with pain but he remained silent as he proceeded to the stairs.

Riku watched after him. "He fell off the wharf."

"He _what_?" Sora laughed.

"He fell off the wharf, slicing open his leg, and getting stung by a jellyfish." Riku listed. "_And_ to top it off, he managed to impale a hook in his hand."

Leon snorted. "That man can't do anything simply, can he?"

"Has he tried to convince you he can't go tonight?" Sora finished handing over the controller to Leon.

"The whole way home." Riku sat in one of the chairs. "Tidus and Wakka are meeting us here as six by the way."

"What time is it now?" Leon asked, starting his level.

"Three-thirty." Riku studied the couple on the floor. They seemed to again be relaxed with each other but somehow he was able to tell it was not due to a release of sexual tension. They must have had an intense talk.

Sora shouted at Leon to do something different than what he was and he shot back that he knew what he was doing. When he died, Sora hit his leg and he tossed the controls at him. They were definitely back to their normal selves.

Riku smiled simply glad that they had come to some kind of understanding.

"So did they give Cloud any drugs?" Sora asked, whipping past the part Leon had died at. He glanced back at Leon smugly. "See? I think you like killing yourself."

"Just because we have the same name does not mean I know anything about this game." Leon pinched the smaller one's side. "I've never battled zombies."

"They gave him pain killers, which he flat out refuses to take and some heavy antibiotics because he wouldn't let them go near him with a needle."

"Not surprising." Leon commented.

"Nope." Riku agreed. "I'm really not worried about infection with the Mako. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the gash on his leg is completely healed by the time you both leave."

He frowned at the last word. That was an event he was not looking forward to. He got back on his feet and walked toward the kitchen. "I'm gonna try to finish that paperwork."

Leon gave him an odd look but Sora only grunted as he continued shooting zombie-like creatures. A high-pitched voice suddenly began calling _Leon!_ and the brunette cursed. "Damn it, Ashley!"

Riku shook his head a bit and left the two alone. Cloud was resting upstairs and Riku decided the blonde needed some alone time. He sat at the table and flicked his eyes toward the large manila envelope that sat there.

With a sigh, he pulled the papers from it and began re-filling them out.


	13. Chapter 13

I'm sure there a ton of errors in this but I wanted to get it done and off my list.

--0—0—

"Man, that guy's voice is annoying." Riku commented, returning to the living room some two hours later. He had one hell of a headache now but at least every form was completed and signed. He held the sealed envelope as he passed the sofa heading for the stairs.

"Oh, gosh yeah," Sora agreed. "And he doesn't shut up."

Leon had his back pressed against the sofa and his head rested on his propped up arm. He leaned his head back enough to look at Riku. "Did you finally finish your paperwork?"

"Yeah…Thankfully;" He sighed. "I had no idea just how much was involved in this…"

"Involved in what?" Sora asked, cursing as he died in the game.

"Nothing you'd understand." Riku answered. "Hell, I don't understand half of it."

Leon bit his lip. "I might be over-stepping here, but I know some legal things so if you need anything explained to you, I might be able to."

"Really...?" Riku brightened. "That would be great actually…Maybe tonight?"

The man shrugged, "Whenever."

"You gonna save that, Sora? The others are going to be here in like twenty minutes."

"Whoa, it's that late?" Sora frowned in surprise. "How long have we been playing?"

"Over three hours." Leon stated tiredly.

"Wow. Okay, there's a place coming up."

Sora saved his place and climbed out of Leon's lap. He tossed the controller away and stretched out. "Just how dressed up are we supposed to get for this thing?"

"No jeans, no t-shirts," Riku recited, "Kairi's exact words."

Leon quirked an eyebrow but before he could say what Riku knew he was going to, the elder teen added. "In the closet upstairs, are several shirts and the like that would fit you. You can use any of them."

Sora grinned. "Wear green. I like you in green."

"Do you now?" Leon smirked. "Then you have to wear red."

Sora's lip twisted in thought. His eyes light up and he grinned again, turning for the stairs. "I can do that!"

He jogged up them, leaving Riku and Leon. Riku glanced at the older man. "So what happened?"

Leon shrugged. "He's not ready and we both know it. We talked it over and now we're fine."

The silvered teen snorted. "You've got to have some damn good self-restraint. I could not do what you're doing."

"That's because you're a hedonist."

Riku could not disagree with that.

"So what are all those papers about?" Sable-hair brushed his shoulder as Leon turned.

"Mom and Dad's will was out of date. I was sixteen when it was written and the lawyers were fine looking the other way about it but Mom's got this cousin who hasn't spoken to us in, well I've never met her, but she found out about their deaths and she's contesting the will."

"She can't do that." Leon folded his arms. "She has no legal grounds especially now that you're eighteen."

"I know that, but it's trying things up and I still have to file a response to her petition." Riku bit his lip. "And there are some other things I want to do since I'm doing all this legal shit anyway."

The older man gave him a questioning look.

"I need to get Cloud going." Riku moved away. "He is _not_ happy about this dinner thing."

"I don't see why. It's just a teenage girl wanting to play hostess." Leon followed him upstairs.

"Zack dragged him to most of Shinra's big dinners. He told us about it yesterday."

"Ah."

Riku paused at his bedroom door. He blew out a breath. "Wish me luck."

"You're gonna need more than that." Leon commented dryly. "But good luck anyway."

"Thanks." The silver-haired one smirked as he entered his bedroom. He shut the door behind him and looked toward the bed. A small smile crossed his face and he allowed himself a moment, simply to watch Cloud sleep.

The blonde turned his head a bit, blowing out a soft breath. He looked so young when he slept.

Riku shook his head at himself. What a cliché thought. He walked over to the bedside, and sat facing Cloud. Gently shoving at his shoulder, he spoke in a firm voice. "Come on, sleepy; Time to get up."

"Humm…" Cloud buried his head further into the pillow. "No."

Riku grinned. "Yes. Now get up. The sooner we go the sooner we can get back."

"Uhh…" Cloud groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes. "Do I really have to go? I'm wounded."

"I'll let Kairi _really_ hurt you." Riku smacked his chest. "Now come on, get up."

Cloud lifted his arm enough to glare at his lover who merely looked at him. A brief staring contest ensued before Cloud grumbled and sat up. "Fine, but you are going to have to make it up to me."

Riku smirked, leaning forward and languidly ran his tongue along the blonde's jaw as he traced the man's muscled chest. "I think I can handle that."

Cloud tried to pull him closer but Riku moved away, turning for his closet. "How's your leg?"

"Better than my hand," The older man noted. "I think the dressing needs to be changed."

"Probably," Riku agreed. He removed a pair of dark khakis and a black and tan short-sleeved shirt from the closet. "Do you need me to do it?"

"No." Cloud stood a bit carefully. "The leg stopped bleeding a while ago. The hand will take longer because it's a puncture wound."

The blonde glanced over. "What are you making me wear now?"

"I'm not making you wear anything." Riku turned and smirked. "Well, I'd _like_ for you to not wear anything."

Cloud rolled his eyes.

"Kairi wants some-what dressy."

Cloud nodded and began rummaging through his bags. He took out black pants and wandered over to Riku's closet. He looked through it for a moment before spying a deep grey dress shirt and taking it. Without a word, he took the clothes and a roll of gauze for his hand and left the room.

Riku dressed quickly then leaned in the doorway for Cloud to re-open the bathroom door. Sora emerged from his room wearing tan cargo pants and a bright red knit shirt. He held a comb to his spiked hair, trying to smooth a few of them out.

"Red is definitely you're color, Sora."

The brunette grinned a bit before frowning and tugging at his hair. "Darn it. I hate my hair."

The bathroom door opened and Cloud stuck his head out. He was only in the black slacks. He glanced at Sora and called him over. When the boy approached, he tugged him in and re-shut the door.

Riku stared for a moment. What the heck…?

Leon came out of the guest room and Riku could not help running an appraising eye over him. He had loose black leather pants on with an almost olive green shirt. The color itself was not that appealing but it somehow complimented his hair and skin perfectly.

"Did you're boyfriend just abduct mine?" The sable-haired man questioned.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"No idea." Riku shook his head. In a slightly raised voice, he added. "So I guess you and I will have to spend some _quality_ time tonight, Leon."

The bathroom door reopened and both Sora and Cloud walked out, both heads of spikes now perfectly ordered. The blonde smiled sweetly at his lover; "Your turn."

Sora chuckled as he looked over Leon. The chuckle took on a different tone. He bit his lip and touched the man's arm. "Thank you."

Leon ran an appraising eye over the younger one. "I think I should be thanking you."

The teen blushed and Cloud rolled his eyes. Sora turned again. "Thanks for fixing my hair, Cloud."

"You can keep the bottle of gel." He watched Riku fuss with his straight hair in the bathroom mirror for a minute, "You done yet?"

"Fuck you."

"I thought we were in a hurry."

There was a loud knocking on the door and Sora brushed past Cloud. The door could be heard opening and Tidus yelled up, "You all better be ready! I wanna get this over with."

"I agree completely." Cloud called down following Sora. They came down the stairs, Leon a few steps behind and the older blonde smirked at the younger one. "Women can be so strange."

"Yeah," Tidus grinned.

"You doin' better now, man?" asked Wakka, nodding toward Cloud's bandaged hand.

Cloud shrugged.

"All right, let's get out of here." Riku bounded down. He paused to look over the two arrivals. Tidus had on loose grey pants and a yellow button down. Wakka was in black slacks and forest green knit. "Did you two buy new clothes for this?"

"Tidus did, ya." Wakka ratted his friend out. "I wore this to your parent's funeral."

Riku angled his head. "You did? Huh. I don't really remember much of that day…."

Cloud brushed his cheek on reflex, bringing a slight smile to the slowly frowning face. The blonde still felt bad that he had not been there for Riku during that awful time.

Riku stepped away. "Let's move out."

--0—0—

The mayor's house was the largest on the island but not in the least bit imposing. It was the same stucco façade as most of the residences only in a more villa style. The small group passed through the gate, the security guard waving to them in a friendly manner.

The front door opened as they approached. The butler nodded formally as he granted them entrance but he was obviously eyeing the older two males suspiciously. Both Cloud and Leon gazed neutrally back.

"Oh, good! You're all here." Kairi entered the foyer, wearing a white, blue and tan knee-length dress. She smiled brightly. "You do clean up nicely."

"Are they here?" Selphie shouted from the dinning room. She scampered into the main hall and gaped. With a bounce to her step, she moved forward to run a critical eye over each one of them individually. She went so far as to rub Leon's leathered leg. "Oh, gawd. I'm not gonna last the night around all of you."

Sora smacked her hand away from Leon with an irritated glare. "Hey! You can look but no touching."

Leon gave him an amused look, throwing an arm around the boy's narrow shoulders. He motioned with his head toward the man who had admitted them. "What's with him?"

Kairi's face twisted in light anger though her almost violet eyes blazed up. "He's against homosexual relationships. He's always going on about how immoral they are."

"Oh?" Riku gave a Cloud a brief look and groped the blonde's ass. "If that's the case, we should put on a little show."

"Don't do that." Sora muttered quickly. He cast his eyes nervously toward the door. Leon gave him a brief, side-long glance.

He dropped his arm and walked toward the room Selphie had left. Sora frowned, knowing that his paranoia had upset Leon. It troubled him, too. Anywhere else, he did not care what people thought of him but on the Islands, it was just… different.

He really did not know why.

Riku narrowed his eyes but the eyes themselves were oddly sympathetic. He then turned a bit to face Cloud. He leaned in to nuzzle his lover's shoulder, gaze leveled steadily on the butler. Holding the man's gaze, he brushed a few fingers through blonde spikes before slowly backing away.

Holding on to Cloud's hand, Riku threw his other arm around Sora's waist. "Come on, bitches. Let's see what's for dinner."

They entered the dinning room and Riku released them both. Sora was blushing heavily as he slid into the seat beside Leon. He automatically buried his face into the man's shoulder.

After a moment, Leon's rigid posture relaxed. The younger brunette pulled away and bit his lip. He opened his mouth to say something but Leon simply kissed him.

Selphie of course reacted very animatedly to this. Tidus rolled his eyes and pretended to be disgusted. Wakka ignored it.

Kairi came in at this point, followed by her adopted father. The mayor was a tall, barrel-chested man with an easy smile and relaxed attitude. He wore his graying hair short and looked like he had recently left the office.

Leon and Cloud automatically stood at near attention.

The man laughed richly. "Obviously, both of you are former military. Stand down, this is just a quick hello before I'm once again whisked away."

Kairi made the introductions and the mayor walked to each of the other men to shake their hand. After he finished with Leon, he ruffled Sora's hair. A strange, almost sad smile crossed the man's face as he moved back toward the entryway.

He placed a kiss on Kairi's forehead before bidding them all farewell. Once he left, Sora sighed and fell against the chair back. He shared a look with the red haired girl. She shook her head and ducked out of the room for a mere moment before coming back in.

Riku took a sip of water. "He still hasn't let that go, huh?"

"Nope." Kairi settled herself beside Sora at the table.

"Let go of what?" Cloud asked. Two women came in with silver trays, one for either side of the table. They began passing out salad.

"Dad had it all set in his mind that Sora and I were destined." Kairi explained easily. She thanked the woman setting her salad. "He was rather… disappointed when he found out Sora was seeing someone else."

"At least he didn't flip out when he found out when he found out it Sora was going with a guy." Riku noted, picking a tiny shrimp from his Caesar salad. Cloud lightly whapped his arm, making a pointed look at the teenager's salad fork. The teen chuckled and took up the utensil. "Fine. I'll use my good table manners."

Kairi smiled at Cloud gratefully. "Thank you."

"If you're going to go this far, the least we can do is respect your wishes."

Selphie giggled, still on the prior subject. "I think your dad is hoping the gay thing is just a phase."

"Probably." Sora agreed. "He likes to point out pretty girls to me."

"You did not just put a shrimp in your mouth." Riku stated with a slight edge, looking at Cloud.

"Just one. I picked the rest out." Cloud replied, unconcerned. "I like shrimp."

"We don't need a repeat of the crab shack."

"There won't be so long as you told Kairi I was allergic to shellfish." Cloud gave Riku a pointed look.

The silvered teen paled as Kairi exclaimed, "He is?"

"Uhh…"

"What happened at Josie's?" Selphie asked eagerly.

"Swelled up like a balloon." Sora laughed. "Cloud's like _really_ allergic."

"Great." Kairi complained. "We're on a freakin' _island_. There isn't much else."

"I'm fine with normal fish." Cloud tried to assure the redhead.

She nodded, seeming much more encouraged now. "Well, you'll be able to eat the main course then. Just don't touch the next one."

"How many courses are we doing, Kai?" Tidus frowned.

"Only four."

The next course turned out to be lobster bisque, which Sora eagerly ate Cloud's portion of. The main consisted of a tofu and seaweed mixture and grilled Oha. Sora, Tidus, and Wakka scrunched up their faces at the tofu.

Kairi caught this and gave each of them a stern look. "Tofu is good for you."

"It's gross." Sora whined. "Only weird veggie people eat it."

Leon turned his head with a bemused expression. "I like tofu."

"You do?" The brunette flushed. "Well, I meant, uh… Yeah, I'm just gonna eat my tofu now…."

Riku snickered. "Way to put your foot in your mouth, Sor."

The younger one almost retorted but remembered his manners and left it at a glare. This only made Riku grin more. He glanced at Cloud and frowned. "You don't like tofu, either?"

"Despise it would be more accurate." The blonde stated as he obediently ate a forkful, his distaste for it obvious. "But etiquette says you eat what is served unless you have good reason."

He chewed his small mouthful and swallowed. "And for being tofu based, it is not bad. You have a great cook, Kairi."

The girl beamed.

Sora muttered _kiss up_ as the girl leaned over and kissed Cloud's cheek. Riku shook his head but continued eating. The three complainers took Cloud's lead and managed to force down their portions.

Their expressions when they got to the fish, however, were ones of near bliss. The light, buttery fillets seemed to more than make up for their dislike of the prior item. Both Leon and Cloud agreed it was the best fish they had ever eaten.

Then desert arrived. Resting on small plates were plateaus of custard with a caramel and brandy coating. A huge smile came to Sora's face. Selphie was bouncing in her seat. "Oh! Oh! I wanna light them!"

"No, I want to!" Sora argued.

"Light them?" Cloud asked in a wary tone.

"You toast the coating by setting the alcohol on fire." Riku explained. "I don't think either of them should be allowed anywhere near open flame."

"Hey!" Sora protested loudly. Selphie narrowed her eyes at the older teen.

"I think they'll be all right if all of us are supervising." Leon stated slowly though there was a definite hesitation to the statement.

Riku and Cloud stared at him incredulously as Sora jumped up, threw his arms around Leon's neck and kissed him forcefully enough to tilt the chair back. Tidus and Wakka glanced at each other and together announced. "He's insane."

Kairi laughed nervously and looked to the woman who had remained after the desert was set. "Do you have two sticks?"

She shook her head apologetically. "Why not have one do each side?"

"Yeah. All right, Selphie. This side first."

The girl squealed and carefully took the lit from the woman. She went to the far end and grinned as she set it to her custard. It flared up in an iridescent blue that quickly flared out. She repeated it for Kairi's, then Riku and Cloud who both leaned back in an exaggerated way. The whole operation went flawlessly.

She smiled widely. "See? I know what I'm doing!"

"All right, give me." Sora held out his hand.

She reached across the table, stretching out her arm toward him. …And Sora strained forward from his place near the center to take it. He over-extended and stumbled as he took the punk. In his effort to regain his balance, he threw the arm back into Leon's chair.

Leon saw it coming but his reflexes simply were not fast enough. The punk slipped from Sora's grasp and on to Leon's hair, igniting it. As it caught, Leon was already taking up his water glass. There was just enough time to singe off a section of bangs and burn some skin before he dumped the contents on his head.

There was a moment of stunned silence before everyone but Leon and Sora burst out laughing. It was obvious that Leon was all right and the irony of the event was not lost on any of them. Cloud probably had not laughed that much in years.

Sora looked at Leon with a truly horrified expression. Leon stared at the table intently and after a minute, pursed his lips and barked out a single laugh. "I earned that, didn't I?"

"I'm sorry!" Sora suddenly swooped in, fussing carefully with Leon's damp, burnt hairline. "I can't believe that happened!"

The sable-haired man took hold of the teen's hand to stop him. "It's all right, stop."

Kairi stood, still laughing a bit. "I'll get you some burn cream."

"I'll go with you." Leon stood. "I need to asses the actual damage."

They left and Sora dropped into his chair. He looked ready to cry. "That was totally unreal."

"Totally." Tidus said in disbelief. "Talk about irony…"

"Don't worry about it, man." Wakka grinned. "Now we got a new story to tell, ya?"

Riku was grinning madly. "Sora, you have now made this dinner completely worth it."

"Shut up, Riku."

"Oh, calm down, Sora. Leon's fine." Riku assured him. He sighed when he saw that Sora was not believing him. "Go follow them. You know where the medical stuff is; you've had to get band-aids from there enough times."

Sora looked at him. He nodded and stood then left the room. Once he was gone, Riku glanced at the other four.

A whole new round of laughter started up.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey, all. Sorry for the wait. A few questions will be answered in this chapter and hopefully it will not confuse you too much. Feel free to ask any questions you want.

--0—0—

Sora wanted to kick himself as he walked down the hallway. He could not believe he had done that. He was the hero of worlds, the defender of the weak, and the chosen wielder of the Keyblade. How did he continue to be a klutz?

He reached the small room, which served as the medical center. It was just an over glorified bathroom but it was large enough for a cot and had nearly everything one could think of in the way of medical supplies. Sora was more than a little familiar with it.

He paused outside of it for a moment, determined to not get all emotional when he entered. It was an accident and Leon was _fine_. He should be able to laugh about this. He sighed softly, knowing he was going to spaz out regardless of what he told himself.

He rounded the doorway, stopping just inside it. Leon sat on the cot across from the mirror and Kairi was dabbing burn cream on his forehead. Steel-colored eyes flicked in the teen's direction and a faint smile tugged at his lips.

Kairi looked over and grinned. "We knew you'd come running here."

Sora moved forward, holding out his hand. Kairi dropped the tube of cream in his hand and stepped away. She gave them a small wave before leaving them alone.

Sora studied Leon a moment before he picked up where Kairi had left off. The damage really was not that bad, some discoloring of the skin near the hairline and a few centimeters of sable hair had been singed off. A light sigh escaped him.

Leon's hand came up and rested on the teen's hip. "Laugh, Sora."

"I can't believe this happened." Sora dropped his hand with a heavy sigh. "I'm supposed to be this great hero and I'm a total klutz. I screw up everything and I'm a total failure. I don't know why-"

"Whoa, where is all of this coming from?" Leon frowned. "You are not a screw up."

Sora gave him a pathetic look.

Leon stifled a laugh. He brought his other hand up to grip the other side of the teen's narrow waist. "You are an amazing person, Sora. I really feel like a pedophile saying this, but you're still a teenager. You're supposed to be a bit awkward."

"Riku never was."

"Riku's a freak of nature."

Sora chuckled, letting Leon pull him a bit closer.

The sable-haired man looked up and smiled. "Don't compare yourself to anyone else. You are Sora; and I wouldn't want you any other way."

Bright blue eyes glanced over Leon's face. "You sure you're all right?"

"Yes." Leon lightly kissed him as he stood. "Now let's go back and get the hell out of here. All of these people are bothering me."

--0—0—

The others looked at them as they entered the dinning room. The table had been cleared and coffee was set out but it did not look like any one was drinking it. It seemed that they were just sitting around waiting for the two to return.

"The damage doesn't look too bad," Riku noted seriously.

Leon kept his arm around Sora's waist as they walked toward their host. "It's nothing."

Kairi gave Sora a heartfelt smile and he squeezed her shoulder. "Well, Kai, as much fun as this has been, I think we're going to head home."

She nodded, clearly not surprised. "I figured that was coming. Cloud's looking really tired."

"I'm fine;" The blonde man protested. He did in fact look a bit worn.

Riku brushed his face. "We should get going. We have a full day tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah," Tidus grinned. "We're still doing that?"

Riku glanced at Sora and Kairi. Both nodded agreement. "Yeah, we're still doing it."

"Doing what?" asked Cloud suspiciously.

"We're spending the day on the play island," Sora answered simply; "Nothing major."

"We are?" Leon seemed rather surprised. Cloud was studying Riku carefully. Both men understood how significant the play island was to both boys' , and even Kairi's, lives.

"Yeah," Riku stood. "Tomorrow we go out there, Saturday is lounging around the house and doing anything else you guys want, and then Sunday…"

"We leave," concluded Cloud, taking Riku's hand with his good one.

"Aww, don't be getting' all sappy on us now, man." Wakka rolled his eyes. "You got all day Saturday for that, ya?"

Selphie started giggling. "Oh, you better do what I think you're going to do tomorrow!"

"Teach these guys to surf?" Riku shrugged. "We can do that. I know we're gonna Blitz."

Selphie blew out a breath. "You know what I'm talking about."

"He does and he is;" Sora grinned, sticking his tongue out at Riku's sour look.

Cloud was looking at Riku with more than a touch of concern. "Do I need to be worried?"

"These goofs don't know what they're talking about." The silvered one tugged Cloud toward the entryway. Kairi got up and she, along with Sora and Leon, met up with them.

The auburn-haired girl smiled and gave each one a tight hug. "Well, thank you guys for doing this. I know it's just a silly, girlish fantasy but I always wanted to do one of these fancy dinners."

"It was very good." Cloud assured her with a true smile. "I enjoyed myself more than I thought I would."

Leon nodded agreement. "Just a word of advice, next time you may want to rethink anything involving open flame."

"Duly noted," Kairi laughed. She turned to the other three in the room. "Are you guys leaving, too?"

"Naw, we'll hang out for a while." Tidus smirked. "We want to make fun of Sora some more."

"Thanks, Tidus. That really means a lot to me," the brunette in question said flatly.

Kairi escorted the two couples to the door, shooting the butler a look that clearly read to get out of the hall. The man obliged, pointedly not looking in the group's direction. She shook her head. "I swear, I'm going to get my father to fire him."

"Just because he's a bigot doesn't give you cause to fire him," Leon noted.

"I promise if he even thinks of looking at me that way again, I will dark aura his ass," glowered Riku.

"All right," Sora broke in. "Let's just go home. Thanks, Kai."

She smiled. "Thank you again for coming."

--0—0—

Upon returning to Riku's house, Sora threw himself on the sofa. Leon smirked and wandered over to join him. He tapped on Sora's shoulder, the teen sat up enough for Leon to slide in, and the younger brunette dropped his head onto Leon's lap.

Riku grinned at them as Cloud dropped into the nearby chair. He reached over the back of it to rub at the blonde's shoulders. "Well, that was certainly an experience."

Sora rolled his eyes. "I love Kai, but I'm not doing that again." He suddenly bit his lip. "I don't think I'm ever going to be really comfortable going there again."

Leon laced his fingers through Sora's soft spikes. "You're going to come across that anywhere you go, Sora. You just have to let it go."

"But you certainly don't have to simply take it," Cloud added, leaning his head back. His eyes were closed and it looked like he was about to fall asleep. "You are no different than you were before you decided to date another man and the people who matter will realize that."

"...And to hell with everyone else." Riku lightly patted his lover's upper chest. "Go to bed, Cloud. You're exhausted."

One blonde eyebrow arched up but its owner did not protest. He got to his feet with a small smile. "You just want me all rested up so you can torture me tomorrow."

"Absolutely;" The silvered one kissed him firmly before shooing him off. When Cloud disappeared up the stairs, Riku settled into the now vacated chair. He sighed and leaned against one of the arms. A slightly apprehensive look came to his aqua eyes.

Leon glanced at him. "So you really do have something planned for tomorrow."

Riku shrugged self-consciously. "It's silly and adolescent but…"

Sora giggled from Leon's lap. "Are there even going to be Paopu fruit out there? It's kinda late in the season for them."

"There are a few good ones." Riku answered softly. "I checked the other day."

"I think it's cute," Sora turned his head, "Even if it is juvenile."

"You guys going to explain this or do I have figure it out on my own?" Leon interrupted.

"There's this really old legend that if two people share a Paopu fruit their destinies will become joined and they'll be part of each other's lives forever;" The young brunette explained, still looking at Riku. "Ri-ri has always been a closet romantic."

Riku threw a coaster at him. "Don't call me Ri-ri!"

Leon snickered at the two. He loved watching those two interact. He had the strong belief that, regardless of their ages, they were always going to behave this way.

Sora sat up and glanced out the window. "I should probably check in with my mom. She wanted to hear all about the dinner party and I do need to pick up a few things for tomorrow."

"You want me to come with?" Leon rubbed at Sora's lower back.

"Naw, it'll go faster if I go alone." The spiky brunette stood. "You can help Riku with that legal stuff while I'm gone."

Leon nodded and took Sora's hand, "Got it."

Sora grinned and kissed him lightly before heading for the door. He cuffed Riku's shoulder as he passed and the older teen retaliated by throwing his leg out and somehow kicking the back of the shorter one's knee. Sora stumbled a bit, shooting Riku an annoyed look before exiting the house.

Riku gave Leon a slightly embarrassed smile. "Ah, look…"

"I'm not going to say anything to Cloud," The sable-haired man assured him. "I think it's kinda romantic actually."

"...Really?"

"Yeah;" Leon swiftly changed subjects. "Now, taking Sora's suggestion, where are these legal things you wanted help with?"

Riku stood, retrieving the envelope he had sealed earlier. Sitting beside Leon, he tore it open and removed the enclosed documents. He had them split into three groups.

He handed the top set to Leon. "This is my response to the contest of the will and all of the other papers relating to the estate itself."

Leon took them and began reading them over. This person really had no grounds or basis for anything she was attempting to do. He shook his head to himself at the lengths some people would go to get free money.

Skimming over Riku's response, he could not help but be impressed. "This is extremely well written, Riku."

"Good. I was rather concerned the lawyers wouldn't take it seriously."

"Judging by this letter alone, I'd say you have no worries. This is exactly right." He clipped the papers together. "Your reply is excellent."

Riku seemed greatly relieved. He took the sheets back from Leon and set them on the coffee table. "Thank you."

There was a long pause and Riku looked at Leon uncomfortably. "This other stuff…I haven't told Sora or Cloud anything about it yet."

Leon arched an inquisitive eyebrow.

Riku worried his lip. "Giving the potentially unstable future we all have, simply because we are who we are, I've decided to make out my own will."

Leon did not like the fact that a barely eighteen-year-old was already thinking about these things, but he understood why. He nodded once and held out his hand. Riku hesitantly handed over the second stack of papers.

As he glanced over them, Riku continued, "Seiya has agreed to be the executor of the estate. There are a few specific things I want certain people to have, various funds to contribute to…but overall, everything I have is to be split between Sora and Cloud."

That did not surprise Leon. He frowned at what he was reading. "What's the clause you're referring to here?"

"We'll get to that," The teen replied softly. "That actually involves you."

Steel colored eyes glanced at him. They returned to the will and finished going through it. "This seems rather complete. I don't know the actual laws of this world, but most of this seems standard for one of these."

"It's not like I have millions of dollars or lots of property or anything. Whether I stay here or move away; this will applies to everything I own." Riku shrugged. "The will itself is rather straightforward. It's this last clause that gets tricky."

"All right…" They swapped papers. As soon as he read the first sentence, Leon understood, "Wow."

"Yeah," Riku folded his hands before him. "I doubt it's going to happen, but I won't risk it."

Leon dropped the papers to his lap. "Riku, I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything. Like I said, I don't think it will happen, and you can count that I'm gonna fight like hell to keep it from happening, but the potential is there." Riku spoke seriously; "If I lose myself again, in any way, shape, or form, I want all of you to be able to do whatever it takes to stop me."

"You realize this basically gives Sora, Cloud, the King, and I permission to kill you if we think it's necessary with absolutely no consequences." Leon blew out a breath. "That can't be legal. No lawyer is going to endorse this."

"Mine will and she has." Riku smiled grimly. "She is one of the few who remember the Heartless. Once I figured that out, I explained the basics of my situation to her. She's the one who suggested the clause; she's also the one who worded it this way and found the legal grounds to support it. It is completely legit."

Leon stared at the boy for a long moment. It was so easy to forget what Riku had gone through during the war. He doubted if even Cloud could truly understand what the teen had endured during that year, and what he likely continued to deal with since then.

"You realize none of us will do it."

Riku laughed once. "Probably not, but that doesn't change the fact that if it does happen…if any of you ever look into my eyes and don't recognize me, I _want _you to destroy me."

The older man realized this was an argument he was not going to win. He also understood that Riku was only doing this as a last resort. He hated it, but he did not protest further.

"Obviously, these documents will only apply here," Riku continued, pushing past the prior subject. "If I ever move to Radiant Garden, or anywhere else for that matter, well…that will be a whole different thing, but I wanted it clearly established somewhere that this is what I wanted."

Taking a moment to settle himself, Leon retook up the papers. He finished looking them over and handed them back to Riku. "That last set is really complicated but the wording looks sound."

Replacing the three stacks of paperwork into the torn envelope, Riku nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Leon. I know that had to be discerning. It was very difficult for me to make the decision to do it, but honestly, I feel a lot more certain about it now that it's done."

"I suppose as long as you are content with it, that's all that really matters." Leon sighed. "However the whole thing really troubles me."

"I know it does. Cloud and Sora are really going to hate it."

"Oh, definitely…"

They sat in silence for several minutes. There really was nothing else to say on the subject. For the moment, they let the weight of the prior conversation settle. Then they moved on.

Riku glanced at Leon's forehead and moved some sable-hair from it. He studied the burned skin and laughed softly. "This has to hurt."

"It does," Leon admitted. "But I'm not going to let Sora know that."

"He tries so hard to be the perfect boyfriend for you."

"I know and I keep trying to tell him I love him just as he is but it doesn't seem to be getting through." The older man sighed. "Sometimes I really do wonder why we're together."

Riku regarded him intently. "…And?"

Leon grinned, instantly recognizing Riku's protective attitude. "…And then I remember how blue his eyes are and how just his smile somehow manages to cast out any doubts my over-analytical mind tries to come up with. I just feel so… _light_ with him."

The silvered one smiled in amusement. He leaned back with a smirk. "And people think I'm a romantic."

"Oh, shut up."

The front door opened and the very subject of their conversation poked his spiky head in. He grinned at the pair on the sofa and bounded the rest of the way inside. He tossed a bag on the floor and came over, sitting on the arm of the sofa and placing his legs over Leon's lap.

"Oi. Get your dirty shoes off my couch." Riku slapped at his leg.

Sora stuck out his tongue as he kicked off his shoes.

"Unless you're planning to stick that tongue in Leon's mouth, I suggest you put it away." The older teen stood. He scooped up his files and headed for the kitchen. "I gotta reseal these. Anyone want a drink?"

"Sure," Leon answered, noting the light blush that had come to Sora's cheeks. "Take you're time."

Riku snickered. "I figured that."

Sora gave Leon a questioning look as Riku disappeared. Then the brunette was pulled off the armrest to sit fully in Leon's lap. He was drawn close and caught in an intense kiss.

Once released, Sora frowned a bit, face flushed. "What was that for?"

"Do I need a reason to want to kiss you?"

"Uh, well, no." The teen worried his lip in a coy manner. He lifted his arms around Leon's neck. "I was just wondering."

Sora brought his lips to his boyfriend's again and they stayed together like that for a few minutes. Leon's hands placed themselves on Sora's narrow hips as the kiss got a bit more intense. Sora's left hand slid up to tangle itself in sable hair, his right moving to cup Leon's face.

Leon abruptly moved away with a grimace as fingers came into contact with reddened skin.

Sora covered his mouth with both hands. "Sorry!"

Leon simply squeezed Sora's hip and assured him it was all right. He brushed a spike of hair from the teen's eyes. He gazed into those sky blue eyes and smiled. "Sora? Don't change."

The brunette bit his lip, a questioning look to his features but he nodded. Some how, he understood what the man meant. "Fine but if I accidentally kill you, it's your fault."

"Understood." Leon agreed. He released Sora's hip to swat lightly at the teen's backside. "We should let Riku know it's safe to come back."

Sora climbed out of his lap. "Actually, we need to figure out what time we're leaving in the morning and go to bed. If we're going to be out in the sun all day, we need to make sure we're rested."

A frown tugged at Leon's scarred face. He was not looking forward to spending a full day on the beach. A glance at Sora, however, told him exactly how important the trip to the play island was to him. He knew it was going to be even more so for Riku.

He made up his mind then that he would do whatever it took to make sure tomorrow was as perfect as he could make it.


	15. Chapter 15

Okay, sorry this has taken _sooo_ long to do. I also apologize that not much really happens. The second half of the day will be up by the end of the week, okay? Bear with me….

Don't hate me.

--0—0—

"Morning;" Riku smiled more brightly than he usually would at this time of day.

Leon nodded once and went straight for the coffee.

The silver-haired teen chuckled. "You are aware that no one needs to be up for another hour."

"Sora has been awake for nearly that long already." Leon mumbled, pouring himself a mug of black caffeine. "I think he's excited."

"Yeah, this is the highlight of the trip for him." Riku finished his own coffee and stood. "Where is he now?"

"He ran home for something." Leon watched Riku rinse out his mug. "Are you going to be alright?"

The youth gave him a confused look.

"The play island is where everything started for the two of you." Leon brought his coffee to his mouth, flicking his head to move some bangs from his face.

Riku sighed. He moved away from the sink, head hanging down. "I'll be fine. I need to talk more about it and I know Sora really wants to. Now is as good of a time as any."

When the teen picked up a fresh manila envelope, Leon nodded toward it. "Are you going to drop those off?"

"Yeah; Cloud won't be awake until I make him get up."

"Mind if I come with?"

Riku looked over. There was something unreadable to his expression. "Sure. Sora's house is on the way so we can let him know that we're out."

"…And Cloud will never know we left."

Riku grinned. "That man can sleep through anything."

"Oh I'm sure there's one thing he can't sleep through." Leon smirked.

Aqua eyes shined in amusement when Riku lifted his head. "Why do you think I greet him every morning with coffee and a kiss?"

"I use the coffee and ripping the sheets off of him approach." Leon downed the rest of his coffee. He set the mug in the sink and casually turned back to Riku. "Have you got any spare clothes?"

Riku narrowed his eyes. A moment later, he laughed. "Decided not to risk the leather again?"

The older man scowled. "No, I just don't want to ruin another pair in the water. You know Sora's going to somehow manage to get me in it."

Riku gave him a look that clearly said he did not believe that excuse for a second. "In the closet of your room you will find a white bag sitting on the floor. In it you will find brand new clothes that, if my near constant ogling of you is right, should be just your size."

Leon quirked an eyebrow at him in mild amusement; "You really are prepared for everything."

"Damn right." The teen smirked. There was a trace of sadness to his eyes. "My parents taught me well."

They fell quiet for a moment before Riku turned away. "Go get dressed. I'll wait for you outside."

--0—0—

The walk to Sora's house was uneventful. They walked up to the porch just as Sora was opening the door and complaining at Seiya about something. His back was turned to them. "Okay, I know! What am I, six?"

"I hope not. I'd really be in trouble then," Leon stated casually.

Sora whirled around in surprise. "What are you…? Whoa."

The teen was openly staring at Leon's new clothing. From the few things Riku had bought, he had picked out a pair of navy cargo pants and a faded grey sleeveless shirt. Seiya stepped around her son and giggled. She brushed at Sora's jaw. "You're drooling, sweetie."

Sora quickly snapped out of it. Rolling his eyes, he whined, "Mom!"

"Morning, boys," Seiya smiled. "Where are the two of you off to?"

Riku simply held up the hand with the envelope.

The woman's face darkened. "Ooh, if I ever meet that woman…"

"I know." Riku had a smile in his voice even though it did not show. He abruptly smirked at Sora. "So you done here or should I leave Leon here with you and Mom?"

"I'm done." The brunet waved over his shoulder as he came down the steps to join the other two. "Bye, Mom."

"See you all tomorrow."

They headed down the street and Sora began complaining about fifty feet from his house. "Ugh! Mom is so annoying sometimes! I wish she would just act like a normal mom. …And then I'm trying to leave and she's reminding me to put on sunscreen and drink lots of water. She needs to just… make up her mind."

"You're lucky to have her." Riku's voice was clipped.

Sora glanced over. Worry suddenly filled his eyes. "Oh! I'm sorry, Riku. I didn't mean…"

"It's fine." The silvered teen simply continued walking.

Sora and Leon shared a look. The younger one worried his lip in concern. Leon squeezed his shoulder in reassurance, quickly releasing him. They then hurried after Riku.

--0—0—

All three were surprised to see Cloud not only awake but dressed and seemingly waiting on them to come back home when they returned to Riku's house. He glanced up at them from the sofa where he was sitting, listening to the radio. He did not ask where they had been.

Riku ran a hand along the blond's shoulders as he passed the back of the sofa. "You ready for today?"

"Whenever you guys are," Cloud stood. "I got out the picnic stuff for you."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "What have you done with my boyfriend?"

Cloud rolled his eyes and followed him into the kitchen.

Sora dropped down into the easy chair and sighed. He leaned his head back to look at Leon upside-down. "I wasn't expecting the trip to the lawyers."

Leon rested one leg on the arm of the chair and ran his fingers through Sora's spiked hair. "Has Riku spoken to you about any of that?"

"No, but I already know." Blue eyes shined a bit sadly and Leon knew that Sora truly did understand everything Riku would have put in his legal documents. "I don't like it, but I won't change his mind."

"Hey, Sor!" Riku called out. "Get the stuff bag together so we can get out of here."

"Okay." Sora got up and turned. He paused and glanced back over at Leon with a shy smile. "By the way, you look _really_ good in those pants."

Leon reached out and pulled the youth to him. They were caught up in a long kiss and it was not until Riku yelled for them to knock it off, although how he knew what they were doing they did not know, that they broke it off. Leon followed Sora into the kitchen; both ignoring the smirks Riku and Cloud sent them and went out the back.

When they came back, each with a bag slung over their shoulders, Riku was finishing packing the last cooler. The older teen grinned as he closed it. "I think we're good."

"Yep," Sora nodded. "And we're on time. Kairi won't kill us."

"Which is always a good thing," Riku noted as he and Cloud gathered up the rest of the supplies. "Let's go play."

--0—0—

They walked to the docks relatively quietly. Sora made light conversation with Leon and occasionally Cloud would join in but Riku remained subdued. None of them gave him a hard time about it.

Kairi and Selphie were waiting at the boats. When they caught sight of the two couples Selphie began jumping and waving. "Hi, guys! Oh, today is going to be _so_ much fun!"

Kairi's reaction was much less animated. She smiled at them and tucked some hair behind her ear. "Tidus and Wakka went ahead to set things up."

Riku nodded, looking out over the water. "The waves suck today…Definitely not boarding conditions."

"Eh, there are enough other things to do out there." Sora shrugged. He was already distributing things between the three boats. "We'll toss around the blitz ball and go swimming."

Selphie giggled. She was standing beside Leon and eyeing him critically. "Sora can show you guys how he fishes! It's so funny."

"It is pretty funny." Riku agreed quietly. "We should make him catch dinner."

Sora rolled his eyes as he finished loading the boat. "You're just jealous 'cause you can't do it. We're loaded. Let's get out of here."

The girls climbed into Kairi's boat as Leon and Sora got into Sora's, and Cloud and Riku into Riku's vessel. Kairi and Sora matched paces and talked back and forth. Cloud took the oars from Riku, insisting on rowing despite his injured hand, and they hung back several feet from the other boats.

Mako-blue eyes gazed at Riku with concern. He did not say anything as he rowed, just watching the silver-haired teen stare out over the water. There was a distant look to his aqua eyes as he looked toward the island that was steadily growing larger.

"I'm alright." Riku murmured, still looking at the palm trees in the distance.

"I know."

Riku flicked his eyes over and a smile tugged at his mouth. "I really want today to be good."

Cloud gave him a full smile. "It will be perfect."

The younger one snorted good-naturedly and rubbed at one of Cloud's knees. He was in a considerably brighter mood when they reached the island. As they glided up to the shoreline, Riku jumped the side of the boat and they brought it in alongside Kairi's vessel.

The other two boats had already been unloaded and Sora was already excitedly pointing out various things. Leon followed him around the beach with a faint grin and his hands in his pockets. He was obviously trying not to let on just how amused he was by this.

Tidus and Wakka waved hello as Riku and Cloud approached with the last of the gear. Selphie was already sitting on a blanket and rummaging through a bag. Kairi shook her head from her position beside Tidus.

Riku dropped the cooler he held and glanced back toward Sora. "Well, do you want to get in on Sora's tour?"

"Actually," Cloud stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Riku's waist. "I would really like to stay with you."

Riku met his eyes and after a moment, nodded. He placed a light kiss upon Cloud's lips, which was _awed_ by Selphie. He shook his head and, keeping an arm around the shorter man's waist just as Cloud kept one on his, turned toward the small group. "We're going to take a walk."

"You gonna actually show him anything?" Tidus questioned with a mischievous grin.

"Yes." Riku rolled his eyes.

Wakka snorted. "Just remember we can see everything that happens on your island, ya."

Riku laughed lowly as the couple walked in the direction that Sora and Leon had gone. The silvered one pointed out a few things he thought worth noting but for the most part, they simply walked quietly together. They caught up rather quickly to the other two.

Leon glanced over and nodded at the pair before returning to Sora's animated tale. The young brunet was using his whole body to re-enact some epic struggle he had with the nearby palm tree. "… And I tried to free the darn thing but it just wouldn't let go!"

"So then I came over, laughed at him, and removed his snagged shorts from the bark." Riku spoke smoothly with a large grin on his face.

Sora whirled around and glared. "Hey! I was telling the story!"

"Then tell it right, goof. Leon already knows you're a klutz."

Sora folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. "So you gonna tell Cloud about how you broke your arm when you were seven, Mr. Graceful?"

Riku shrugged. "I fell out of the clubhouse while I was rigging the pulley with Wakka."

Seeing that his attempt to turn things on Riku was a dismal failure, Sora pouted and took Leon's hand. "Come on, I'll show you the other side of the island later."

"We can't just walk around?" Leon asked as Sora turned him around to go back the way they had all come.

Riku was the one to answer. "You can't get through that way. The foliage and underbrush is too thick. We all earned a lot of cuts and scrapes trying to find a path through."

They rejoined the others and, at Selphie's insistence, remained at camp. Wakka and Tidus had already broken out the blitz ball and were tossing it around at the shoreline. After several minutes of begging Sora dragged Leon over to the water, the sable-haired man tossing a _told you_ over his shoulder.

He kicked off his shoes and removed his shirt as they went, tossing them up the beach. He mentally noted that he should have looked for either swim trunks or boxers in that bag of clothes. The others were down to their swim gear, Sora trying not to look embarrassed about how slight he seemed compared to the other three.

Riku and Cloud sat with Kairi and Selphie on the beach, watching. As the teens explained the rules, Selphie moved over and tugged on Riku's arm. He quirked an eyebrow at her as she frantically motioned with her head for Riku to go over to the shack with her. Having no clue what this was about, he got up and followed her.

"I don't think I want to know what that's about." Cloud murmured as Riku was led away.

Kairi giggled, "Probably not."

It was hot out, but there was a decent breeze carding its way across the sand, tugging at their hair and clothes. The four in the water had started playing, Wakka and Sora against Tidus and Leon. The older man seemed to have caught on rather easily.

"Uh, oh," Kairi noted glancing in the direction of the shack. "Riku's really in trouble. She actually took him inside."

Cloud frowned a bit.

"Don't worry;" The auburn-haired girl smiled. "Selphie won't hurt him too badly."

The blond did not doubt that. Something in one of the bags caught his attention. "Is that a Frisbee?"

Kairi looked over. "Yeah, do you want to play? I like Frisbee."

"Sure." Cloud reached over and collected the circular piece of plastic. "I haven't tossed one of these around in years."

When Riku and Selphie returned from the shack, the silvered teen could not help but smile. Cloud was grinning; jogging back a few steps to catch the Frisbee that Kairi had ended up tossing a bit high due to the wind. The blond jumped and caught it easily, shooting it back against the breeze. The plastic stayed right on target.

Selphie laughed at Riku's expression as she plopped down on the blanket. "You so better do it, Riku or I swear…"

Riku sat down beside her, eyes still fixed on his boyfriend. "Yes, Selph, I know."

As the others played, Riku and Selphie set up lunch. The moment Sora realized what they were doing, he abandoned the blitz ball and came splashing out of the water. The other three made a few odd comments about this as they followed him at a much more subdued rate.

The four wet men were forced to sit on a plastic tarp, away from the others. Sora protested being kept away from the food but Tidus whapped him in the back of the head as he stated he would have kept him away regardless. The brunette pouted but it quickly disappeared when Leon handed over his share of cookies.

Cloud and Kairi joined up with them and the group ate. As they did, they discussed what to do next.

"I wanna play volleyball!" Selphie declared, popping a chunk of pineapple into her mouth.

"Oh, that sounds good." Kairi agreed. "You'll play, right Riku?"

The silvered teen shrugged. "Sure but we need a fourth."

"I think that was a hint, Cloud." Selphie giggled.

"I don't do volleyball." The blond stated quietly. "I tend to hit everything out of bounds."

"I can play." Leon put in. He shook his still damp hair. "I think I'm done with the water for awhile."

"But that leaves us short!" Sora protested animatedly. Suddenly he grinned. "Fine, you can play volleyball but then we get Cloud."

"Agreed;" Both Riku and Selphie stated, ignoring the not-so-amused look from Cloud.

"Since when did you make my decisions?"

Riku scooted over on his knees and draped his arms on the man's shoulders. "Oh, don't be like that. You know you don't _have_ to."

Riku nuzzled against his ear and everyone else rolled his or her eyes, including Cloud.

Leaving Kairi and Selphie to clean up, Riku and Leon went to set up the volleyball net. Sora, Tidus, and Wakka got up to return to the water. Cloud watched Riku and Leon for a moment, an odd little smile coming to his face.

"Come on, Cloud!" Sora called out.

The named man climbed to his feet. Before leaving the blanket, he pulled off his shirt and kicked off his boots. Then he removed his pants. He did this all as if no one else was there.

Selphie's jaw dropped when she realized that Cloud was now only in blue swim trunks. "Oh. My. Gosh. Riku I officially hate you."

"What-?" Riku stopped short. He stared for a moment before sighing and locking his jaw. "Oh that's not fair."

"I don't want to get my clothes wet." Cloud said simply, walking toward the three already in the water.

Selphie was ogling Cloud and Riku was still looking after him. Kairi shared a look with Leon. The auburn-haired girl shook her head. "This game is going to suck."

Leon nodded.


	16. Chapter 16

This part really kicked my ass so be nice, okay? I really was not expecting this segment of the story to get this big. It's still not finished….

--0—0—

The volleyball game started all right. Leon and Selphie faced-off against Riku and Kairi. A shirtless Leon proved enough to keep Selphie's attention on the beach at least. Riku was a bit less focused, throwing looks at the group in the water whenever he got the chance.

The first few rounds went smoothly. Leon turned out to be a very good player, and Riku and Kairi had to work to keep from being easily defeated. That was until the scarred man took his first dive. The loose waist of his drying pants allowed for quite a bit of sand to get in, quickly becoming a major irritation. It was distracting enough that he did not notice that Kairi had bumped the ball straight at him.

It hit him in the head, right on his burn.

He managed not to scream, only letting a hiss escape through his clenched teeth. Selphie asked if he was okay and, when he nodded, she stifled a giggle and went to retrieve the ball. Riku grinned as Kairi shouted an apology to which Leon only waved dismissively.

After a moment, they restarted and the game moved on rather smoothly. Riku eventually removed his shirt along with Kairi and Selphie. Both girls had gone with one-piece bathing suits since there was obviously going to be no one to impress.

Out in the water, Cloud managed to keep up with the boys rather well. He was a quick study and after seeing a few passes, figured out what he needed to do. He played nearly as well as Sora.

Unfortunately, the removal of Riku's shirt distracted him for a moment, and there was no warning what so ever when a heavy weight slammed into him, forcing him underwater. He struggled for a moment, somehow kicking free and breaking the surface.

Sputtering, he threw a glare at the person closest to him. Sora merely grinned sheepishly and muttered a sorry, not sounding in the least bit so. Wakka shook his head, clearly having seen the entire thing. Tidus was openly laughing.

The blond teen snickered. "You can watch Riku undress whenever you like, Cloud."

Cloud sent him the blue eyes of death and Tidus withered under it. Wakka lifted a ruddy eyebrow and shared a nod with Sora; "Why don't we stop, ya? We don't want to start pruning."

The group left the water and headed up the beach. Cloud sulked as he dropped down on one of the towels, looking off toward the volleyball game. Riku and Leon had gotten into a battle, each purposely spiking the ball at the other. The girls stood off to the side giggling.

Riku and Leon looked happy as three-year-olds with a new toy.

This did not make Cloud very happy. It did not help that his injured leg was acting up a bit. It should have fully healed by now. He rubbed at his calf as he continued watching the other two play.

"Give up, Leonhart." Riku batted the ball over the net. "I can do this all day."

"So can I, brat." Leon shot back, along with the ball.

The teen darted to the side to hit it back. "I grew up playing this game."

"I was the best in Garden."

Sora plopped down beside Cloud and both watched their boyfriends. "It's almost like they're flirting, isn't it?"

Cloud made a soft noise.

Sora angled his head at Cloud. "Why do you get so jealous?"

"I'm not jealous."

"Yeah, you are." Tidus settled down on Cloud's opposite side. "You aren't very good at hiding it."

Wakka joined them and nodded. "You shouldn't worry, ya. Riku nearly worships you."

Cloud looked around himself. He was being ganged-up on by teenagers. The truly sad thing about it was that he knew the three of them were right.

Riku finally managed to win, spiking the ball nearly straight down. Leon had to lunge for it but missed, face hitting the sand. Kairi and Selphie applauded as Sora, Tidus and Wakka groaned in sympathy. Cloud smiled a bit.

Sora stood up and ran over with a water bottle. Leon got up on his hands and spit out the sand that had gotten in his mouth. He shot Riku a look, which quickly became a smirk. Riku held out a hand to him and pulled him to his feet.

"I win."

"This time," Leon countered, brushing at his chest. Sora had arrived and the older man took the water from him with a grateful smile and used some of it to get the rest of the sand from his mouth and lips.

When finished, he wrapped an arm around Sora and they made their way over to the blanket. Riku, Kairi, and Selphie were close behind, the girls whispering excitedly to one another. Apparently, Riku knew what they were talking about because he shook his head at them.

He walked up to Cloud and dropped behind the man's back, arms resting on his shoulders. The blond made a face. "Ugh, you're sweaty and covered in sand."

Riku laughed and brought his lips to Cloud's neck. "And you taste like salt water."

Tidus and Wakka rolled their eyes and got up to get away from the lovers. Tidus snickered. "Yeah, he's totally got a reason to worry."

Leon snorted as he settled down with Sora.

"Hey, Riku…" Selphie opened a container of sliced up fruit. The named teen somehow managed to keep his mouth in place as he twisted his head to glance at her. "If you guys are going to show them the other half of the island, you should probably do it now. Sora still needs to catch dinner for us."

Riku pulled away from Cloud's neck and glanced at Sora. Blue eyes looked back and they both nodded. They climbed to their feet, pulling their respective boyfriends up with them.

"We'll set up the bonfire." Tidus informed them. Kairi gave both of her best friends an encouraging smile as they passed.

Sora and Leon again took the led as they walked past the row of wood breakers and headed into the cove. Sitting on the beach looking tattered was a raft. Sora moved ahead and stood on it, turning to address the others. "So, uh, I guess you could say this is where it all started."

Leon lifted an eyebrow, walking around the platform. "This is the raft you guys built?"

"Yep," Sora glanced at Riku. "This was Riku's great plan. I still say it could have worked."

"It looks surprisingly sturdy."

Riku bit his lip, moving closer and holding tightly onto Cloud's hand. "I did a lot of research into building it. I knew there was no way we'd be able to make a boat so I went with a raft. We never even tested it to see if it would float."

"It was a good idea." Sora shrugged.

"It was a stupid idea." Riku countered. "Why the hell I thought sailing away would take us to other worlds, I don't know."

"You were kids," noted Leon softly.

They all fell quiet and Sora stepped off the wood. He looked up at the pathway along the back stone facing with a frown. "How do you want to do this, Riku?"

Riku was still staring at the raft. "However you want, Sora."

The younger teen moistened his lips and nodded. He thought for a moment before turning toward the others. He took a deep breath and motioned them to follow him. He pointed out the clubhouse and the pulley system Riku had rigged up when he was eight. Riku made a few additional notes but remained rather quiet.

They crossed back past the raft and climbed up the short ladder to the next level. As they rounded the pathway, Sora pointed out various spots. Riku actually chuckled as they told the story of naming the raft. The silvered one laughed at Sora's embarrassment over the Paopu fruit part of the bet.

Leon smiled at the brunet in amusement, ruffling his hair. "So you really believe in that legend?"

"I was fourteen!" Sora protested before whirling on Riku. "And notice I never did it!"

"You still believed it when we came back." Riku smirked. "I saw the addition you made to your little cave drawing."

"Yeah, well-" Sora began. He suddenly looked at Riku curiously. "You said you haven't gone in there since…"

Riku frowned, studying his feet. "I've been there once."

Cloud and Leon glanced between the two, uncertain as to where they were talking about. They had a faint idea but neither wanted to ask. They just let the teens take them where they would.

Riku looked toward the bend in the path. "Should we get the Secret Spot done next?"

"Yeah," Sora's voice was unusually soft. He grinned as Leon took his hand and squeezed it.

Riku moved ahead first, Cloud remaining closely to his side. They rounded the curve and Riku tensed. Sora's breath actually hitched. The blond glanced back at Leon and both stopped.

Cloud was the one to speak for both of them. "Look, neither of you have to do this."

Riku and Sora shared a look. "Yes, we do."

The silvered teen tugged on Cloud's hand and without hesitation marched into the small cave. He had to duck a bit as they followed the tunnel to emerge in a rounded out space. There were several large boulders and some wood bracers along the sides and in the far corner stood a large wooden door.

Sora had paused before the entrance to collect himself. Leon again squeezed his hand and placed a light kiss to the side of his forehead. The boy grinned weakly and turned to face him. "This place is probably worse for Riku than it is for me."

Concerned grey eyes met blue. "This is where the door is, isn't it?"

Sora nodded.

Leon simply placed his arm around the teen's narrow shoulders. Sora leaned into him for a moment before stepping forward and entering the cave with Leon right beside him. When they reached the clearing, Riku was standing with his back against the door, obviously lost in thought. Cloud was a few feet away looking at the various cave drawings and throwing frequent glances at Riku.

"Riku…" Sora called out softly and the older teen immediately took several long steps from the door, understanding exactly why Sora had said his name. He did not look up as he moved.

Sora glanced around and weakly smiled. "Well, here we are, right where it all started. Behind that door is the heart of the Islands."

Cloud looked over, as did Leon. The sable-haired man calmly noted, "It looks so… deceptively innocent."

"Tell me about it," sighed Riku, sitting on a squat rock. "When I opened the damned thing, I had absolutely no clue what would be behind it. That voice just kept telling me that opening it was the key to freedom."

"I hate that door." Sora stated coldly.

Leon and Cloud turned toward the two teens. Sora walked over to sit on the ground beside Riku. The silvered one placed his hand on Sora's back and rubbed it absently. After a moment, Sora noticeably relaxed. This in turn seemed to help Riku for some of the tension appeared to leave him.

Rather abruptly, Riku smirked at Sora lightly. "You gonna show Leon your pretty artwork or do I have to?"

Blue eyes narrowed at him. They shifted toward Leon and Sora squirmed uncomfortably. "We were kids when we drew those."

"Not the Paopu fruit part."

Sora was blushing now and he fugitively glanced toward the wall to their right. "He doesn't have to see that."

Leon rolled his eyes and stepped forward. "You realize now I _have_ to see it, Sora. If you really don't want someone to see something, act like you don't care."

The brunet teen sighed and pointed past Riku. "Fine; don't laugh at it."

Gray eyes looked over and Leon's expression clearly read _why would I do that_. Riku helpfully pointed out the picture with an obnoxious grin. Studying it, Leon almost did laugh though it was for the reason the teens were likely to think.

"Have you seen this, Cloud?"

"It was actually the first thing I noticed." The blond folded his arms. "You thought it, too?"

"Thought what?' Sora frowned, glancing between the two men.

Leon pointed to the scraping with the spiky hair. "Obviously, that's you. What's funny is that if I hadn't been told the other was Kairi, I would swear it was Riku."

Both teen's turned to stare at the drawing. Riku angled his head thoughtfully. "Actually, yeah, I can kinda see that. Kairi did draw it though."

"You should ask her about that." Cloud almost snickered. "Maybe she actually drew you and if that's the case…."

"Maybe she saw what neither of you did." Leon noted idly.

Riku narrowed his eyes and turned back to Cloud. "Okay, now you're just reaching."

"Hey, girls have a sixth sense about those kinds of things."

Sora stood and folded his arms. There was deep suspicion to his tone. "You guys are saying all of this on purpose."

"Why would we do that?" Leon casually moved away from the rock drawing.

Now Riku was also giving Cloud that inquisitive gaze. "To make us think about something other than the bad things that happened here."

Cloud and Leon shrugged. The blond simply asked, "Did it work?"

The teens tried not to smile. "No."

The four fell into a strange quiet mode. The moment of levity passed and Riku was again regarding the door. Cloud came over and wrapped his arms around the teen's torso from behind. Leon had taken Sora's hand. The younger brunet smiled a touch.

He glanced at Riku and the smile brightened. "At least some really good stuff came from opening that door."

Riku smirked. It quickly turned into an actual smile as he took one of Cloud's hands and kissed the knuckles. "Yeah."

"Is there anything in here we should see?" Leon released Sora's hand to rub at the boy's neck. "Or can we get out of here because this cave is kind of creeping me out."

"I think we're done." Sora sighed, letting his head fall forward in response to his massage.

Riku stood and Cloud's hands ran down over the older teen's shoulders and back as he released him. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

Taking the lead, Leon placed his arm around Sora's slim waist and escorted him out. Riku moved to follow but Cloud held him back. When Riku turned to look at him quizzically, the blond reached up to brush at lengthy silver bangs.

"I don't care how terrible it sounds, I'm glad you opened that door."

Riku bit his lip, clearly conflicted about the declaration. He still wondered what would have happened if he had ignored the voice, if he had never given in to the darkness. He loved Cloud with all of his tainted heart and knew that if he had not made the choices he had, he would never have met the man but he was still undecided if the price everyone else had to pay was worth it.

He simply nodded in response and kissed Cloud passionately. "Come on."

They left the Secret Spot and the door behind them.

Leon and Sora had waited a bit further up the path outside, Leon holding Sora to his chest tightly. The smaller body pressed against him and there was a trace of sorrow to his blue eyes. Upon seeing the other two emerge from the cave, Sora grinned weakly.

Riku nodded in understanding and pulled Cloud closer to his side. "I say we do a really quick showing of the islet and then go work on getting dinner."

"Sounds good." Sora put some space between himself and Leon. "All right, off to Riku's brooding ground."

Riku rolled his eyes but did not deny it. The two couples walked back down the path, back toward the ladder and the top level of the seaside shack. Riku glanced at Cloud. "How's your leg doing?"

"It's fine, why?"

"Sora, let's take the shortcut."

The boy looked back and grinned. "Okay."

"Shortcut?" Leon echoed, surveying the area. The only islet he saw was just past the roof of the shack. "You mean jumping the shack?"

"Yep," Sora nodded, following Riku and Cloud over. "It's easy."

Leon lifted an eyebrow but followed. Riku and Cloud were already making the leap over to the flat roof of the wood shack. They made it look completely effortless. Sora went after, gliding over just as easily. Leon noted bitterly that all three of them did this as if it were nothing.

Leon had never been too good with the aerial stuff, much preferring to keep both feet on the ground.

With a heavy sigh to himself, he stepped to the edge of the path and judged the distance between it and the roof to be about four feet. If he took it at a run he could probably make it. …Or he could simply say forget it and take the long way.

Not that his stubborn pride would allow that.

Sora frowned at him, suddenly realizing that there was no way Leon was going to make the jump and not break his neck. He glanced at Riku, who also got this. Gliding back over, he took Leon's hand and moved back about two feet.

He turned back toward the opening, still grasping the man's hand. "Alright, count of three, we run."

"Sora-"

"One, two, three." They took off and at the edge, Sora ordered, "Jump!"

The teen laughed as they flew over the edge. Leon did his best not to close his eyes and not panic. He was a bit behind Sora when they landed and the heels of his feet hung over the edge of the wood. If not for Sora and then Riku pulling him forward, he definitely would have fallen back off the roof.

He stumbled a few steps forward, grimacing at the sharp pain in his left ankle.

Sora was at his side in an instant. He bit his lip and studied Leon in concern. "That didn't work as well as I thought."

"I'm fine." Leon straightened up and forced himself to walk normally across the roof. Cloud gave him a look and Leon silently dared him to say something. The blond kept quiet.

They crossed the roof and hopped down, Sora quickly catching up to his boyfriend. Riku and Cloud shared a look, both knowing that Leon had twisted his ankle on that jump. They followed at a slight distance.

Crossing the bridge, Sora seemed to notice it also for he guided Leon toward the side ways Paopu tree and leaned against it, islet side. This gave Leon an excuse to do likewise. The teen held his hands out, motioning to indicate the entire space.

"…And this is where Riku goes to brood."

"I don't come here to brood." Riku countered in irritation. "I like coming here to think."

"Uh huh." Sora laughed.

"Whatever," waved Riku as he turned to walk the perimeter. "This is where we held most of our sparring matches. It makes for a great fighting ring."

"It does," Cloud nodded. "The few trees make good barriers and the surrounding water promotes the need to maintain awareness of your surroundings."

"Yeah," Sora snorted. "Riku loved to force us into the water. He did it so often we ended up nailing a ladder into the side so we didn't have to swim all the way around."

"It's not my fault none of you could watch your footing."

Leon chuckled and Cloud grinned. The blond kicked at a jutting piece of rock. "You guys should keep training here."

"Oh, we do occasionally." Riku shrugged. He had made his way to the water facing side of the bent tree. He ran a hand along the smooth bark. "There are times Sora comes out here and confronts me."

"Yeah," Sora turned around to face him. "When you're out here at like three in the morning instead of sleeping!"

Cloud lifted a blond eyebrow at them. Riku was looking off at the water in the distance. His voice was quiet. "You know why I do that, Sora."

The younger teen sighed. "Yeah, but I don't have to like it."

The teens stopped speaking and Cloud and Leon shared another look. Both men were picking up the same small nuances in the teens attitudes and speak. There was a lot going on here and they silently agreed to discuss it later.

Leon glanced to the leafy end of the tree. "So are Paopu out of season right now?"

"Huh?" Sora looked over. He moved away from the trunk and stepped closer to the top of the tree. "Well, I thought there was one here the other day. Only one or two grow at a time."

He suddenly paused and narrowed his eyes at the back of Riku's head. A faint smirk tugged at his lips but something in his expression was genuinely happy. When he looked at Leon, the man had a fairly good idea where that missing fruit went.

He glanced at Cloud who was missing the entire conversation. The blond had his attention fixed solely on Riku, who was still looking out over the water. There was a deep concern to his bright blue eyes.

Very suddenly, Riku turned and snapped out of his spell. He looked to Sora with a mischievous grin. "So, you ready to catch us some fish?"

It took Sora a moment to adjust. He shrugged and walked back past Leon, patting the man's leg as he passed. "Sure. How many do you want?"

Riku studied the clear water below them. "I'd say one each. There's some big ones out there."

"Okay." The younger one grinned. Leon had turned to face them, still leaning against the trunk. Cloud had wandered over and was standing beside Riku now. Sora waved and simply stepped off the side of the islet backwards.

Leon started a bit but Riku laughed. There was a loud splash and Cloud moved forward to glance over the side. The blond's voice was skeptical. "He seriously catches fish with his bare hands?"

"Yep," Riku angled his head back to look over his shoulder. "Is your ankle all right?"

"It's just sore." Leon moved cautiously around the base of the tree. He looked out to see his boyfriend swim smoothly out into deeper water. Spiky brown hair came up to look around and after a moment, dived back under.

When Sora came back up, he held up a fish and waved it at them triumphantly.

"Wow."

Riku chuckled. "Yep, I don't know how he does it."

Off in the distance, they heard Kairi yell out, "Are you going to be able to hold all of them?"

"Uh…"

"We've got that covered," called out Riku. He then nudged Leon. "Go out there and help him."

Leon frowned. "How?"

Riku pushed away from the Paopu tree and knelt down near the rocks beside him. He rummaged for a moment and produced a netted bag. He handed it to Leon. "Here."

The man took it and after a brief look to Cloud, dived off the edge and began swimming out. Riku and Cloud watched to make sure he got out to Sora alright before the silvered one turned to face Cloud. He bit his lip before kissing him and tracing his face.

At Cloud's curious look, Riku only smiled and took his hand. He stepped away from the ledge, followed by the blond and headed for the bridge to rejoin the others.


	17. Chapter 17

The fire was kicking into full gear as Riku and Cloud approached. Wakka was setting up a flat rock with some sticks and an angled knife. Kairi was routing through one of the baskets. Tidus and Selphie were watching Sora and Leon out in the water.

There was a loud squeal from the water and everyone looked over as Selphie bounced with laughter. "Oh, those two are so funny!"

Cloud narrowed his blue eyes. "What are they doing?"

Tidus snorted, turning away to help Wakka. "I don't think we want to know."

The older blond had to agree. He settled on the blanket, Riku beside him and glanced around. The sun was setting but the temperature had yet to drop. The heat coming off the bonfire was intense. "Anything we can do to help?"

"Naw, man," Wakka finished setting up his little station. "Tidus and I have got this. Whenever Sora brings the fish, we'll be good to go, ya."

"I should have realized that you two would know how to clean and gut fish."

"Wakka's dad taught us when we were like four or five." Tidus shrugged. "He said real fishermen had to cook anything they caught."

There was loud splashing from the ocean as Sora and Leon made their way back on to the sand. Sora was looking extremely pleased with himself and Leon had a rather awed expression. As Leon handed over the bag of fish, Sora dropped to the sand near Riku, grinning.

"So how many did you get?" Riku looked over to where Wakka and Tidus were getting to work.

Leon left them and came over to sit beside Sora, rubbing at the teen's shoulders. "Nine, pretty large one's too."

"Dang, Sora." Tidus whistled as he began de-scaling. "You need Leon to go fishing with you more often."

The young brunet grinned, leaning against Leon's body. "Yeah, he's good at keeping quiet and not disturbing the fish unlike you two."

"Watch it, Sor." Kairi giggled, bringing over drinks for everyone and passing them out. "They have to cook your dinner."

"Sora's stomach is like indestructible, man." Wakka was copying Tidus' movements. "Even if we poisoned him, I doubt he'd die."

"Unlike Riku;" Selphie poked a long stick in the fire. "He's the pickiest guy I've _ever_ met! ...And that's with everything, food, clothes, movies, people. It's amazing he even has a boyfriend."

Riku smirked, lightly bumping his shoulder against Cloud's; "Yeah, only had to travel to a different world to find him."

Sighing, Selphie looked at Kairi. "That's it. Me and you need to steal their ship and go guy hunting."

"Good luck with that." Tidus snorted, nearly finished preparing his first fish. There was a sad tone to his voice. "Even if you did, unless you were ready to live off-world, you'd almost never see him."

Cloud and Leon exchanged quick glances and Cloud nodded. Leon turned to the two males on the other side of the fire. "Cloud and I were talking yesterday and we decided that if you two ever want to go see Yuna and Lulu, one of us would take you."

Tidus and Wakka both froze. They glanced at one another for a mere moment before looking across the way. Tidus fixed his gaze on Cloud. "You mean that, don't you?"

"Absolutely."

Tidus bit his lip and nodded. "We'll remember that."

"Oh! Oh! This is _so_ awesome!" Selphie clapped her hands. "I love how all of you guys are bonding! It's so adorable!"

Wakka and Leon both rolled their eyes as the redhead and Tidus returned to preparing fish. Sora snuggled up closer against Leon as Kairi and Selphie began skewering chopped vegetables on sticks. Riku had been rather quiet for a while, but when Cloud gave him a questioning look, the silvered teen smiled reassuringly and kissed his cheek.

After a few minutes, the girls had the veggies roasting in the fire and the guys had the first few fish prepared and propped up within the flames to cook. The teenagers chatted happily and Cloud and Leon occasionally added their own comments, which Selphie and Wakka seemed to find hilarious. They continued talking until the food was done and Kairi and Tidus passed each of them a grilled fish and a vegetable kabob.

Conversation died for the most part as they ate. Cloud clearly was not overly impressed with the fish, finishing it quickly then eating the vegetables at a much slower rate. Leon on the hand rather enjoyed the meal, stating that Wakka had to show him how to roast fish like this sometime. To everyone else, the food was old news.

As Sora and Tidus argued over who got the last fish, Kairi caught Riku's eye and lifted are auburn eyebrow. He mouthed _in a minute_ at her, tossing his empty food sticks into the fire. Wakka and Leon had already tossed theirs and plucking the last chunk of onion off hers, Selphie's soon joined them.

Sora and Tidus continued to bicker, looking for all the worlds as if they were ready to break into a fistfight. With a sigh and roll of his eyes, Leon stood, calmly walked over and took the remaining fish. With exaggerated finesse, he held his hand out to Wakka. The redhead chuckled, handing over his knife.

Leon then cut the fish in half, including stick, and handed each section to one of the boys. The then gave the blade back to Wakka with a faint _thank you_. Wakka merely nodded.

"So," Selphie dropped her hands in her lap. "There's still some sunlight out so what do we want to do now?"

Tidus twisted his lip. "Well, back in the day we would spar after eating."

"Oh, yeah," Sora grinned. "I wonder if the old swords are still in the shed."

The two stared at one another a moment before leaping to their feet and running off. Leon just managed to avoid being toppled over by Tidus in his mad dash. Riku, who was still pressed up against Cloud's side, chuckled and shook his head.

Kairi and Selphie glanced at each other, stating in unison, "Boys."

The former Seed looked down at Wakka. "I'm assuming they mean the wooden swords you all used to practice with."

"Play with is more accurate, man." The redhead rolled his shoulders and swung his arms to stretch the muscles. "The real things are very different."

Riku snorted. "Tell me about it."

Sora's triumphant cry was heard across the beach. He and Tidus jogged back, arms loaded with several toy weapons. They dropped them into a pile near the cooler, keeping one each. Sora grinned at the others. "So who wants to challenge me first?"

When no one took him up, he frowned. "Oh, come on! It's a wood sword! It's not like I'm gonna Keyblade any of your butts again."

Riku, Cloud and Leon sent him withering looks.

"Come on, Sor." Tidus tapped the brunet's weapon with his own. "I bet I can take you now. I learned a few things on Spira."

"Oh, yeah?" Sora said challengingly. "Well let's see then!"

He enthusiastically launched an attack at the blond teen, which was quickly met and returned. The pair moved away from the group, swiping at one another with huge smiles on their faces. It was clear they were having fun with this.

Selphie quickly bored of watching this and pouted a little, placing her chin on a fist. After a moment, she stood and dug in one of the bags. Producing a net bag with a small plastic shovel and a few different sized pails, she walked away from the campsite toward the waterline.

Kairi broke away from watching Sora and Tidus to look at her. "Going to build a sandcastle?"

"Yep;" The slightly smaller girl stated, emptying the bag on the sand. "Next month is the big tournament and I want us to enter this time." She paused and angled her head. "Of course we need something really cool and different to do so we stand out."

"Every year you say you want to enter that damn contest and we never do because no one can think of anything good enough to do for it." Riku brushed as his bangs. There was a lightness to his expression despite the somewhat harshness of his words. "Why should we believe this year will be any different?"

"_Because_," Selphie glanced over with a smile that instantly made everyone suspicious. "This year we've got two incredibly hot guys to help us with ideas."

Cloud lifted an eyebrow and turned toward Leon. "We just got volunteered, didn't we?"

"From Selphie, that's an order," corrected Kairi. She fell back on the blanket, throwing her arms above her head. "So we better start thinking before she starts chucking sand at us."

"You throw sand at me, Selphie and you will live to regret it." Leon threatened softly.

"Then don't give me a reason!"

Wakka shook his head, returning his attention to Sora and Tidus dueling in the distance. "That girl is not afraid of anything."

"She _really_ reminds me of the Selphie I knew." Leon studied the flipped-up brunette a moment before climbing to his feet. Cloud and Riku looked at him curiously as he walked over and settled on the damp sand beside the girl. "How good are you at building these things?"

Selphie pulled on the side of her swimsuit. "I did a dolphin leaping up from the ocean."

Nodding slowly, Leon began smoothing out a patch of sand then started drawing in it. Selphie leaned over and watched him, her grin getting increasingly brighter. Wakka, now wondering himself what the man was doing, got up and went to see the sand picture.

"Whoa, what is that?"

Leon did not look up as he finished sketching. "This is what Balamb Garden looked like."

Selphie's jaw dropped and suddenly she was clinging to Leon's bare chest. "Oh! Oh! That's _perfect_! I love you!"

"Hey!" Sora shouted from across the beach. "He's my- OW!!"

Tidus smirked as he withdrew his wood sword from the back of Sora's head. "All's fair in love and war."

"Oh, now you're gonna get it!" The brunet attacked the blond with renewed vigor.

"Kick his ass, Sor." Riku stated loudly from his spot with Cloud. He was still pressed to the older man's side, fingers tracing along his exposed abdomen. When Cloud glanced down at him, the teenager grinned lightly and drew himself up for a lengthy kiss.

It was broken by something hitting the back of Riku's head. He whirled around to find Kairi innocently looking at him. His glare quickly became a smirk. "You're just jealous, Kai."

"Keep telling yourself that, Riku." The auburn-haired girl stood to join the three in the sand. "And while you're at it tell Cloud about time you beat up Ryo for flirting with Sora."

"That's not why!"

Kairi chuckled as she jogged away. Cloud was giving Riku an amused look as the teen pouted. He brought Riku back to his chest and brushed his cheek against his. Riku grumbled for a moment longer before settling into the embrace.

Fifteen minutes passed before Tidus admitted defeat and the duelists returned to the blankets. They collapsed onto their backs, gasping and smiling. Both looked extremely pleased with themselves.

"Tidus." Leon called over from the slowly shaping mound of sand Selphie and Wakka had built up. "If you keep your left shoulder in-line with your hip it will give you a more secure stance and you won't have to compensate so much."

The blond teen lifted his head. "You were actually watching?"

"You'd be surprised the things Leon notices." Sora sat back up and grinned at his boyfriend's bare back. After a second he frowned. Leon's shoulders were looking a bit red. He could not remember if the man had put any sunscreen on in the first place.

He spun around toward the stack of bags and supplies and rooted through for the bottle of sunscreen. More could not hurt, especially since it looked like Leon was already getting a light burn. Upon finding the bottle, he got up and went over to the group.

"Put more of this on." The teen calmly instructed, holding the container before Leon.

The sable-haired man glanced at it then flicked his eyes up. A faint smirk tugged at his lips. "My hands are covered in sand, Sora. If you want it on, you're going to have to apply it."

Sora ignored the snickers from Selphie, Kairi and Wakka. He bit his lip in a coy manner and dropped down behind the older man. He then simply squeezed out some lotion and proceeded to rub it into Leon's shoulders.

He used alternating soft and firm touches to apply the cream, grinning at how Leon's muscles tensed and relaxed under his fingers. He could just barely hear the man's breath hitch when Sora would purposely work at spots he knew were sensitive to Leon. The teen really enjoyed the reaction he was getting.

The other three pointedly ignored the display.

Back on the blanket, Tidus shook his head. "I'm almost afraid of what's going to happen when Sora finally does have sex."

Riku snorted. He rubbed his hand along Cloud's waist. "He's got potential to be worse than me."

"World's help Leon." Cloud muttered.

"Hey!" Riku smacked his thigh as Tidus outright laughed.

The sun had dropped a bit more, hanging low before the horizon and a breeze tugged at the palm leaves. Sora had finally tired of torturing Leon and stopped his massage, tossing the sunscreen back toward camp. Leon pulled the boy into his lap and supervised as Sora leaned forward to help the others smooth out what would become the lower levels of Balamb Garden.

Tidus threw a few more logs on the fire, sitting up with his forearms on his knees. He flicked his eyes over toward Riku and Cloud. "You guys were serous about taking me and Wakka to Spira, weren't you?"

"Absolutely." Cloud tightened his arm around Riku. "We know how much it hurts to be separated from the person you love."

The younger blond let out a breath. "Yeah, you would. Thank you."

Cloud only nodded. Selphie abruptly yelled something unintelligible and Sora and Kairi both lurched forward. They frantically worked to keep one of the sides of their project from collapsing. Leon half-turned, giving the three at camp a pained look.

"Why do I have a feeling Sora managed to hit him in the crotch as he leapt?" Riku asked idly.

Tidus chuckled. "Because it's Sora."

The wall was apparently saved for the group settled down and Sora glanced back at Leon. He saw the expression and immediately understood it. He flushed red and began apologizing profusely. Leon waved these off as if it was not a big deal as the other teenagers caught on to what had happened and started laughing.

Not wanting to be left out, Riku shouted over. "Way to make sure Leon can't molest you in your sleep, Sor!"

Sora scowled at him. In an obnoxious voice he shot back. "Don't you have to go be a total sap now?"

Riku bit his lip and glanced at Cloud. He knew Sora, while using the words as a taunt because he was annoyed, was also hinting that if Riku wanted to do what he had been planning to do in the back of his head for days now he better go do it. Suddenly he felt like a total child.

Both Selphie and Kairi sent him encouraging grins. Tidus pursed his lips a moment before a faint smirk appeared. He poked at the fire and spoke casually. "It is getting dark. Best time to take a walk around the waterfall."

Riku sent the younger teen a grateful look. The blond had given him a reason to disappear with Cloud for a bit but left it completely open as to why. They could simply go for a walk or do whatever. Turning back to Cloud, Riku nudged him. "You up for a walk?"

Lifting a single eyebrow, Cloud shrugged and released the silvered teen's body. "Sure."

He took Riku's hand after he stood and squeezed it comfortingly. He could tell Riku was nervous about something and judging from the odd conversation earlier on the islet, he had a strong feeling what it was. He knew Riku was as much a secret romantic as he was.

As Riku started them walking, Selphie yelled out, "I want details!"

Riku actually flushed. He closed his eyes and sighed. Sometimes he hated how well his friends understood him. He had not said a word but he knew somehow, every one of them knew what he was thinking about doing.

Beside him, Cloud chuckled. When Riku glanced over, he _knew_ Cloud had pieced all of this together. The blond man let go of his hand and slipped his arm around his waist. "You know what they used to say back in Nibelheim?"

Riku gently shook his head. They were at the waterfall now and Cloud turned Riku to fully embrace him and look him in the eyes. "When two people made the same wish on a shooting star, they became bound to that wish. Shooting stars were a very rare thing to see, even in the countryside."

He pulled Riku's body closer and nuzzled his nose against the side of the teen's face. "Zack and I were on an assignment to Junon and we saw one. I made him make a wish with me at that very moment. He thought is was silly but he did it."

Riku worried his lip, not quite sure where Cloud was going with this story. Was he agreeing to do whatever Riku wanted just to humor him? He did not want that.

Cloud chuckled again and touched Riku's chin. He placed a light kiss upon his lips and whispered, "I would love to be part of your life forever."

Riku studied Cloud carefully. He knew the older man meant every word of that statement. Suddenly he no longer cared how silly or childish it was to believe in a legend. It did not matter if there was any truth to it, only that they were both willing to believe. Drawing himself against Cloud's body, he smiled beautifully.

Cloud returned it, feeling like he had somehow received the most precious thing in all the worlds. "So…?"

That faint nervousness returned to Riku's aqua eyes. "I stashed the only Paopu in my box by the tree."

Nodding, Cloud turned toward the bridge arm still holding Riku securely to his side. They crossed over to the islet, walking to the sideways tree. He released Riku so the teen could go over to where he had a small chest buried. After a moment, silver hair glinted in the nearly faded sun as Riku straightened out.

He turned back toward Cloud, uncertainty in his expression. In his hand he held the small, innocent looking star-shaped fruit. He shifted a little uncomfortably.

With the way the disappearing sun's light hit Riku's hair, casting it in shades of red-gold, and the faint shadows of nightfall shaded his features, Cloud decided that right then and there, Riku was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Stepping forward, he brought a hand up to run it along the side of Riku's face. The teen's eyes fluttered shut at the touch and they became caught in a breathless moment. Cloud carefully removed the Paopu fruit from Riku's hand.

His question slipped seamlessly from him as he held the hard fruit between them. "Ready?"

Aqua eyes half-opened to bore into blue. "Yes."

There was a pause. Then they both abruptly laughed. Riku moistened his lips with a sheepish look. "I have no idea how we're supposed to do this."

"I guessed that." Cloud held the fruit up and examined it. "It's got a hard skin so my guess is to break it apart and eat the fleshy part inside."

"I think the outside breaks off."

With a nod, Cloud broke off one of the points. Juice dripped from the tear, running along his fingers. His thumb toyed with the edge of the separated piece to see if the skin peeled away easily. As he did, Riku stared at the other hand.

Slowly, he took hold of that hand and brought it up to his mouth. Cloud stopped to watch this curiously. Riku angled his head down a bit and let his tongue snake out to trace along the back of the hand, licking up the trail the escaped juice had made.

Cloud's breath hitched in reaction. There was something extremely sensuous about the gesture. He fought back the urge to simply toss the fruit to the side and begin ravishing his lover right there. Working moisture back into his mouth, he quietly noted. "I thought you wanted to eat fruit."

"I do." Riku's voice was husky. "That doesn't mean I don't want you too."

Riku stepped closer, dropping Cloud's hand. He moved in and stood near enough for his breath to ghost across the blond's ear. "So how do we do this?"

With a shudder, Cloud used his thumb to flick off brittle bits of skin from the fruit. Once a good portion was exposed, he lifted it up to his own mouth. Without hesitation, he bit into the fleshy piece and chewed a bit.

Riku's eyes had locked onto him as he did so, watching his every moment carefully. Cloud continued chewing the slightly sweet tasting morsel and held the rest of the piece up to Riku's lips. The teen pulled his gaze away long enough to glance at the fruit before him. He then bit into it.

The couple spent another moment savoring the rather mildly flavored fruit before swallowing. They gazed at one another in unspoken understanding, faint smiles tugging at their expressions. Cloud's blue eyes were full of light and more than a touch of lust. Riku figured his had to be reflecting something similar.

He pressed his body against Cloud's, causing it to fall back on the large tree trunk behind him. Running both hand up the blond's muscled chest, Riku moved in and caught him in a fierce kiss. Cloud immediately responded by tossing what remained of the Paopu to the side and gripping Riku's narrow hips with both hands.

The kiss broke off so that mouths could explore ears, necks and shoulders and hands traced out well-know paths along skin. Neither particularly cared at the moment that even though it was nearly dark, they could likely be easily seen. They did have the presence of mind to keep their moans and cries low as the few clothes they wore were shed and Riku found his chest shoved roughly against the bark of the tree.

All the while, the Paopu fruit lay innocently on a patch of grass.

--0—0—

The group had given up on the elaborate sand structure after the side collapsed for the third time. Selphie decided it was just the condition of the sand and made Leon promise to draw out the design for her so she could try it again later. They had all moved back to the blankets, waking Tidus up from his light doze.

The blond sat up as Selphie and Kairi went over to a food bag to take out s'mores supplies. "So when do you think we'll see Riku and Cloud again?"

"Depends on how long they hold out before ravishing one another." Sora again sat in Leon's lap. Leon brought his arms around the boy's waist and settled his hands on his knees.

"Those two are every fangirl's dream." Selphie sighed. "I wish they were here all the time."

"So do I," mumbled Sora, quiet enough that no one but Leon heard him. The older man tightened his hold a little and kissed the skin just behind Sora's ear. Sora angled his head, letting Leon linger there for a bit.

Selphie giggled, handing them each a stick with two marshmallows on them. "You two are so cute."

Tidus rolled his eyes and glanced at Wakka who had taken the spot beside him. "I really don't get it."

"Man, it's gotta be one of them crazy female things, ya."

Kairi chucked a marshmallow at his head. "It's a fangirl thing, thank you very much. We're not all like Selphie."

Wakka caught the little ball of sugar and tossed it back. "You're the exception. Half the girls at school are all over this yaoi thing."

"Cause its hot!" Selphie dropped down beside Leon and Sora. "You either get it or you don't, right guys?"

Leon made a non-committal noise and Sora shrugged. Both simply roasted their marshmallows as Kairi dealt out chocolate and graham crackers. Selphie shook her head and dipped her stick directly into the flames.

She removed the now on fire marshmallow and quickly blew it out. She looked up as she reached for a cracker and grinned widely. "That was fast."

"What was…?" Sora turned in Leon's lap. "Oh."

Riku and Cloud were languidly strolling back to camp, hands clasped together. Riku's hair was disheveled and Cloud's shorts hung very low on his hips. There was a relaxed contentment to their postures.

However, this is not what made Selphie drop her flame-broiled stick on Sora's leg, causing him to squeak in pain. The sound went unheard by the rest as the girl's squeal cut through the air. "Oh! Oh! This is the greatest thing _ever_!"

The others were now curious despite their prior disinterest. The group as a whole looked over and even Tidus and Wakka found themselves amused. Kairi giggled happily and Sora looked torn between laughing and making a sarcastic comment. Leon simply arched an eyebrow.

Cloud and Riku were casually passing the remains of a Paopu fruit between them as if it were nothing more than an ordinary piece of fruit.

"How'd the sculpture go?" Riku asked, handing the last bit of fruit over to Cloud. He sat down on the blankets and retrieved Selphie's dropped stick. Cloud settled himself beside him, their thighs touching.

"Gave up on it." Kairi answered, offering Cloud a stick with a marshmallow. The man declined and she smirked. "Already had your dessert, huh?"

"Something like that."

Selphie turned and began asking questions a mile a minute. They ran one after another with no room to answer in between even if Riku or Cloud wanted to. Riku just let her go on, burning a fresh marshmallow and making it into a s'more for her. She did not stop carrying on even as she took it from him and ate it.

It was a full ten minutes before she wound down and Leon was staring at her in amazement. "I think that beat Yuffie."

Cloud nodded in agreement. Riku and Sora did not seem at all surprised. Kairi shrugged and laughed. "That's our Selph."

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Riku stretched his back out and rubbed at Cloud's leg. "But I'm tired."

Tidus snorted and muttered. "I bet you are."

Kairi frowned and looked around for her handbag. "I actually probably need to get back soon also."

"Yeah," Selphie reluctantly agreed. "My mom's gonna be calling around if I'm not back by midnight."

By unspoken accord, the group began cleaning up the site. Tidus and Wakka broke up the remains of the bonfire as Kairi and Selphie packed up the bags. This left Riku and Leon folding up blankets with Cloud and Sora standing by watching. They ended up carrying a majority of the bags and coolers the girls put together.

They all headed for the small pier and loaded up the boats. In pairs, they rowed back to the main island tossing snide comments and insults to one another the entire way. At the dock, they unloaded and walked through the empty streets to the split off to each of their houses.

After brief goodbyes, Tidus, Wakka and Selphie headed off toward their homes and Riku, Cloud, Sora and Leon walked Kairi to her house. Outside the gate, the auburn-haired girl smiled at the two couples. "This was really fun."

"Yeah, it was." Sora nodded, glancing at Riku who also nodded. "I'm glad we went with it."

"Good," She waved and turned up the walk. "See you guys tomorrow."

They returned the sentiment and finished their own journey toward Riku's house.


	18. Chapter 18

Wow this story totally became something else, didn't it? You all seem to still love it though so I can't complain. I know I said there were only two more chapters to this but this ran long on me. After this, there WILL only be two more chapters.

--0—0—0—

Sora turned his face away from the light that was breaking through the curtains. He buried his face into Leon's chest and the man reflexively tightened his hold on the teen's waist. Even though Sora knew Leon was also half-awake, he did not want to say anything that would break the comfortable moment.

Leon and Cloud left the next day.

He really did not want them to leave yet. Actually, he did not want them to leave at all. He loved having Leon here with him and Riku was just so much happier having Cloud close by. Sora had worried a great deal about his friend since Riku's parents died.

Sora brought his hand up and traced the center of Leon's chest. He did not say anything but he somehow knew the older man understood what he was feeling. When they had first decided to get together, they had held a lengthy discussion about what a relationship between them would entail. They knew there would be long separations and periods of non-communication.

They had decided it would be worth it and that if things worked out between them, either Sora would move to Radiant Garden after he graduated, or Leon would come to the Islands once the restoration was finished, depending on which came first. Riku and Cloud had a similar arrangement. Those two had been together much longer than Sora and Leon and it seemed to be working for them.

"Think we're going to see Cloud or Riku today?" Leon quietly asked; a large hand casually moving along Sora's hip.

"If my mom has anything to say about it then yes;" Sora chuckled. "But I'm not expecting much."

"Hmm…" Leon shifted a bit and made a soft noise. "I think I got a bit sunburned."

"Oh, yeah...?" The younger one reluctantly lifted his head to look his boyfriend over. He tried not to laugh. "Yeah, just a little."

Actually, Sora was amazed the man was not sitting up and protesting anything touching his skin. Leon's upper shoulders were an angry red and it was likely his back was also. His cheeks and the end of his nose were about the same shade.

Leon frowned at him, "That bad?"

Sora bit his lip. "You're gonna hurt when you move your arms."

The former SeeD groaned; "Figures. I should have known with the luck we've been having on this trip."

Sora carefully kissed him so as not to bump his nose before getting out of bed. "Hang on; I know Riku's got some aloe lotion."

He slipped from the room and ignored the noise coming from behind Riku's door. He had expected as much, and was strangely happy to hear the other couple making use of the time they had left together. He knew they were much more established as a couple, and fully expected them to be together for the rest of their lives.

The idea of spending his entire life with someone was rather daunting to Sora. While he cared immensely about Leon, maybe even loved him, he could not even begin to entertain the idea of being with the same person for the rest of his life. He was only seventeen

He jogged downstairs, retrieved the after-sun lotion, and hurried back upstairs. The noise from the other room had stopped and the faint murmurs of conversation drifted out instead. Sora could just hear Riku's voice. It sounded sad

He frowned a little and turned into Leon and his room. He closed the door behind him and noted that Leon was now sitting up and gingerly touching his face. Sora had a better view of the sun damage now and it was worse than he thought.

Leon glanced over and concern shaded his expression. "What's wrong?"

"Just thinking;" Sora spoke neutrally as he crossed over to the bed He moved to the opposite side of it and motioned for Leon to turn his back toward him. After the older man gingerly did so, the teen squeezed some lotion onto his hands and began to apply it carefully.

Leon hissed when Sora's fingers touched his shoulders. He gritted his teeth a bit and willed himself to relax. He had endured much more severe pain than this. To distract himself, he asked, "What were you thinking about?"

"Well," Sora began slowly, gently rubbing in the aloe cream. "I was just thinking how hard it's got to be for Riku and Cloud. I mean… they are absolutely miserable without the other. I don't know how they get through these separations."

"I don't either." Leon agreed. "I miss you when we're not together but you and I are very different from them."

"Yeah;" Sora started in on the other shoulder. "I don't really get why Riku stayed here after his parents died. I've asked him but he's never really given me a good answer."

Leon winced as Sora hit a particularly bad spot. "He has his reasons."

"I know." The teen said softly. "I just worry a lot about him He won't tell me about all that stuff he had to do for the lawyer which tells me it was something I'm totally not going to like."

"I wasn't too happy about it when I saw it." Leon muttered breathily "But his logic is sound."

They fell silent and Sora worked his way down the older man's back. After a few minutes, he asked, "Is this doing any good?

"I'm alternating between wanting to shove your hands off of me because of the pain and wanting to throw you down on the mattress because you'd make a damn good masseuse."

Sora snorted "There's no way I'd ever be better than you are. Your back rubs make me melt."

Leon carefully looked over his shoulder. "Is that so? I'll have to make sure you get one tonight then, won't I?"

The smaller brunet grinned shyly before darting in to kiss the man deeply. He moved his head the wrong way during and hit Leon's burned nose. Leon jerked back with a hiss, bumping his back into the headboard and nearly shrieking.

He took a calming breath and caught Sora's horrified expression. There was a pause between them, each marveling at the absurdity of it all. Then they just laughed.

Leon held out his hand. "Maybe you should let me do my face."

Smiling, Sora handed over the bottle.

--0—0—

Riku made a faint noise as he shifted. He blinked sticky eyes and wet his lips. "I fell back asleep, didn't I?"

"It's alright." Cloud brushed back some of his silver hair. "We've had a rather intense morning."

"Sorry about that," Riku moved his body a little to put some space between them. "I didn't mean to fall apart like that. It's not like this is the first time we've had to separate for a long time."

"It's different this time." The blond assured him, turning his bare body toward Riku.

"Yeah," mumbled the teen lying on his back. "Maybe Seiya was right"

A blond eyebrow lifted. "What was Seiya right about?"

Riku flicked his eyes over a moment, an uncertain look to them. He cast them away again to study the ceiling. "Seiya doesn't think I belong here anymore She's been pushing me to reconsider my options."

Cloud narrowed his eyes, "Your options?"

Aqua eyes slipped shut and Riku sighed. "She thinks I'd be happier in Radiant Garden."

Both were quiet for a few minutes. Riku kept his eyes shut, wondering what Cloud's reaction would be. Yesterday, they had taken an enormous step by sharing the Paopu fruit. Even if it was simply a silly legend, the symbolism behind it was powerful.

"What do you think?" Cloud asked softly.

Riku abruptly sat up. "I don't know. I wanted to leave here because I was miserable; at least I thought I was. Then when I was gone, I wanted nothing more than to come back. Now I'm here again and…"

He exhaled, lengthy bangs fluttering up. He half-turned and placed a hand on Cloud's chest. "What I do know it that I'm only truly happy when I'm with you."

Cloud gave him a soft smile; he tugged the teen forward, making him fall unto his chest As Riku settled in, he began lightly threading his fingers through silver hair "Look, I don't know how many times I have to tell you this. I will go wherever you want me to, even if it means moving to this worlds-forsaken island. All I want is to be with you."

Riku lifted his head and rested his chin on his lover's chest. "I know you hate it here."

"Well, it's not Costa de Sol… but its close enough."

"You'd really stay here if I asked you to?"

"To be with you...?" The blond grinned, "Absolutely"

Riku bit his lower lip in a coy manner. He slowly slid his body up along Cloud's; "I love you."

Cloud smirked, "I know."

Rolling his eyes, Riku brought his mouth to Cloud's own. The slow, lazy kiss intensified as they shifted their bodies into a more comfortable position. The younger one let his hand drift down to Cloud's hip and he gave it a quick squeeze.

The couple was fully prepared to launch into a second round for the morning when a single, sharp thump echoed from the door.

"Ku! Mom says we're not allowed to lounge in bed all day and she wants us over for breakfast!"

Riku groaned, pulling away from Cloud's neck. He shouted out toward the door, "We'll catch up!"

They could hear Leon snickering in the background as Sora retorted. "We have twenty minutes to get our butts over there."

Silver hair fluttered up as Riku dropped his head against Cloud's shoulder in defeat "Sometimes I really dislike that woman."

Cloud snorted in agreement as Riku reluctantly rolled away and off the bed. He held out his hand for Cloud and when he took it, tugged him off the mattress. "C'mon. We've got just enough time for a shower."

--0—0—

When Riku and Cloud came downstairs ten minutes later, Riku could not help but laugh. "Wow, Leon. I knew you were gonna end up with a burn but damn."

Leon shot him a glare and returned to watching Sora pulling his shoes on. The brunet teenager deftly worked the laces of the oversized footgear. He then shot up with a grin. "What do think Mom made for us?"

"Hopefully beignets again;" Riku and Cloud easily slipped shoes and boots on. Riku glanced at Cloud. "Actually omelet's sound pretty good"

Leon agreed with him, stiffly standing up. He was wearing a rather loose, white sleeveless t-shirt with black cargo pants. The shirt stuck a bit to his shoulders due to the aloe lotion coated on.

"Whatever it is, it will be great." Sora announced. "I'm starved! Let's go."

Riku grinned at his friend's exuberance. He caught Leon's fond little gaze as Sora headed out the door and the grin turned into a smile. "You're totally going to miss him."

Sighing, the corner of Leon's mouth curled up as he, Riku and Cloud followed the Keyblade Master outside. "Shiva help me, I am."

Sora waited at the end of the walk for them and as a group, they began the walk down the street. He smiled, walking backwards, but there was a faint sadness to his cheerful expression. "So is there anything we want to make sure we get done today?"

"I think," Riku drawled out with a light smirk, "that the two of you should spend some quality time with Seiya."

Sora tripped A slightly fearful look came to his blue eyes. "You… seriously think me and Leon should spend a whole day alone with my mom?"

"I think it's a good idea." Leon seconded. At Sora's dropped jaw, he chuckled. "I like Seiya. You know she would love it."

"Yeah."

"Good, that's settled then." Riku smiled.

"So what are you going to do?" Sora almost glared. "You're going to spend all day having sex, aren't you?"

Riku looked at him indignantly. "Sora! I cannot believe you think so little of us! There is more to Cloud and my relationship than sex."

Cloud quirked an eyebrow; "There is?"

"Yes." Riku whapped him in the stomach; "We are going to walk around downtown."

"Oh, that sounds fun." The brunet teen's eyes silently begged Leon to agree with him.

"It does. However with this burn, I don't want to be wandering around outside" Leon did not sound in the least bit sorry about this. In fact, he grinned rather evilly at his young boyfriend.

Sora recognized this and in aggravation, shoved the man's shoulder. He realized a second too late that it was a really bad idea. At Leon's hiss and sudden jerk back, Sora brought both hands to his mouth and started rambling apologies.

Leon set his jaw and waved them off, shooting a glare at Cloud and Riku, daring them to laugh The other couple wisely kept quiet but it was obvious they were holding back laughter. The sable-haired man schooled his features back into a mask of indifference. "It's fine."

Sora clung to Leon's side the rest of the walk, carefully holding on to his arm. Apparently he no longer

cared who saw them. Riku and Cloud hung back, close together but not touching directly

Seiya was waiting for them at the door, and she looked at Leon in worry as they came up the few steps. "I do hope you put aloe on that burn."

"Your son has been taking care of it." Leon replied neutrally.

"Ah, so he made it feel better than worse, huh?" She giggled. Sora pouted angrily and she wrapped a small arm around him. "That's my baby boy."

"So we got here in less than twenty minutes," Riku noted as they were herded inside the house. "What's the prize?"

Seiya released Sora and patted Riku's cheek. "Anything you want, sweetheart"

"Great," Riku took Cloud's arm and turned back toward the door. "We're going back to bed."

"I have beignets."

"Oh," Riku breathed out and faced the petite woman again. "You know too many of my weaknesses."

"Of course I do!" Seiya laughed, heading for the kitchen. "I know everything about my boys and with a little time, I'll know their boyfriends too!"

They followed her, and she immediately shooed Leon and Sora, along with Cloud and Riku to their places at the table. Riku, giving her a meaningful look not to argue, went to the fridge to take out a container of juice before sitting down. She was setting food upon it even before they were settled.

The group ate contently, trading odd bits of stories and exchanging thoughts and compliments on breakfast. This was the second big morning meal she had done for them and as it wound down, she began talking about dinner. At that, Leon shook his head and insisted that either they took her out or he cooked for her.

When he offered this, Seiya grinned brightly. "I'm so glad you can cook. Sora burns mac'n'cheese."

"So does Cloud!" Sora protested.

"I can make macaroni and cheese." The blond countered sharply. "I burn ramen, get it right."

Seiya laughed richly. However, there was a trace of sadness to her words. "Either way, I know all of you will be well taken care of when you leave here."

The four studied her curiously.

That happy smile did not leave her face however and she moved on as if she had not said anything. "Now, what are your plans for the day?"

"Cloud and I are going shopping." Riku finished off his omelet. "Leon and Sora are staying with you. We did promise to see the others sometime later so they can say their goodbyes."

"Well, how about this then," Seiya thought out slowly. "You two go do whatever you need to, we'll get in touch with Kairi and invite everyone here for dinner. We can have a little 'come back soon' party."

"'Come back soon' party?" Leon angled his head. "I like it." He abruptly pointed at her. "You still have to let me cook."

"Oh," She waved a hand. "I like cooking, you don't have to do anything."

"I want to."

"Don't argue with Leonhart, Seiya," Cloud advised. "It's not worth the headache."

Blue eyes sparkled as the woman sighed in mock defeat. "I suppose if you insist but guests are not supposed to work."

Leon shrugged as he stood and began clearing dishes. Cloud followed suit. The younger male partially leaned toward Seiya as he passed. "Then think of us as family."

Seiya giggled and looked at her son. "If you don't keep him, Sora, I will."

Sora's jaw dropped. "Mom!"

Riku snickered and downed the rest of his juice. "Well, if that isn't incentive…"

"Ku!" Sora smacked his friend's arm. "That's just gross!"

"I was referring to keeping Leon as your boyfriend," The older teen said innocently. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Sora."

Sora pouted angrily until Leon made his way back over to get some more dishes. The former SeeD gently clasped the back of Sora's neck and rubbed it reassuringly. The younger brunet melted a little.

The table was cleared and between Leon and Cloud, the dishes were quickly washed and set to dry. Seiya looked helpless as she fidgeted for something to do, clearly not used to not being the one doing all of this. She was clearly relieved when they finished and the group moved into the living room.

"Okay, you sure you want to have everyone here?" Riku confirmed with Seiya as he and Cloud headed for the front door. "We can all just order take-out at my house."

"I'm positive." She started shooing them out. "I live for this kind of thing. Now you two go have fun. Oh, and while your in the market, could you get me a few key limes?"

"Only if you're making key lime pie with them."

"That's what I'm using the ones I have on, darling!" She patted his cheek. Then she pushed at Cloud's arm. "Now go, you two. Be back around five!"

Once they were out the door, she practically slammed it on their asses. The couple glanced at one another for a moment before laughing and walking down the few steps and out to the street. Downtown awaited.


	19. Chapter 19

Been a long time, non? Yeah...sorry about that. Anyway, yes, I changed the title to better reflect the direction the story has taken. I hope this chapter works well. It might be a little rushed toward the end but since today (the thirteenth) it the one year anniversary of this story, I really wanted to get the chapter up. I also cut it off a bit early so the last chapter will be longer.

I hope you guys like this and please let me nice notes. I may actually get the last chapter out by the end of the month.

* * *

"So what do you think Seiya has those two doing?" Riku asked idly, looking over a collection of sponges displayed in front of a beauty store.

"No idea." Cloud murmured back, arms folded casually before him as he watched Riku. He never was a shopping person but he was really enjoying watching his lover carefully survey his options, checking the items that caught his eye and occasionally asking Cloud his opinion.

On one of these occasions, Riku paused. He angled his head at Cloud and frowned. "What?"

Cloud shook his head with a faint smile, "Nothing."

"Uh huh," Riku moved away from the stand and stepped closer. "Then why are you looking at me like that?"

"I like to watch you," the blond man commented quietly. He subtly reached out and brushed at the silvered teen's arm. He quickly drew it back but Riku took hold of it and grinned bringing the hand up to his mouth and kissing the knuckles.

At Cloud's upraised eyebrow, Riku gave him a bright look. "I told you, I don't care what anyone says or thinks about us."

He tugged Cloud forward by his hand until the older man was nearly pressed against him. He smiled flirtatiously and toyed with the waist of Cloud's jeans. Despite his confident words and actions, the kiss he placed on the blond man was extremely brief and rather chaste.

"Oh, I've seen you two do better than that!"

Riku dropped his head against Cloud's shoulder for a moment. "How does she manage to appear at the most opportune moments for herself?"

"No idea," Cloud turned his head toward the young woman cutting through people to reach them. "Hello, Selphie."

Selphie's approach drew a great deal of attention and the couple discreetly put some more distance between them. They may not have cared a great deal about who saw them but they were not going to invite a lot of attention either. Selphie was liable to bring enough of that on her own.

"Hi, guys!" The brunette halted before them and placed her hands behind her back, leaning forward a little, "Wha'cha shopping for?"

Riku shrugged. "Nothing special; I just wanted to spend some time alone with Cloud and give Seiya some time with Sora and Leon."

"That's why we're out here?" Cloud shot him a look.

Selphie giggled. "Good idea, Ku. I know Seiya really wanted to get to spend more time with them."

Riku nodded. "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, I'm going to the wharf to see if there's any fresh shrimp." The girl fluffed her hair. "Wakka said he'd make his dad's gumbo for tonight. It's gonna be so much fun!"

"Ah." Riku glanced at Cloud, casually reaching over and squeezing his hand. "I hope so."

"It will!" Selphie abruptly jumped out and threw her small arms around both males' necks. "And I have a surprise for all of you."

She released them and simply laughed at their slightly worried expressions. The people around them eyed the group warily, a few clearly thinking they were all insane. With a wave and blowing a kiss, she bid them goodbye and skipped off.

"Why am I suddenly afraid?" muttered Cloud, folding his arms.

"Because it's Selphie," replied Riku, shaking his head. He blew out a breath and turned back to the store display he had been looking at. After a moment, he moved away. "Come on, I want to hit the candy shop."

--0—0—

"Leon, dear, hand me that jar."

Sora could not help but chuckle at how his mother had been referring to Leon as 'dear' all afternoon. Leon said nothing about this but Sora saw the nearly imperceptible twitch near the man's eye. It a strange way the whole thing was quite cute.

Leon gave her the requested item, somehow not breaking his kneading pattern. He had been put in charge of making the piecrust for Riku's key lime pie. Sora was supposed to be dealing with the limes themselves but kept getting distracted watching Leon work.

There was something hypnotic about the way the older man's muscles moved beneath his tanned skin as he worked the dough. The palms of his hands would dig into the lump, flattening it out only to pick it back up and flip it around to do it again. Sora was in awe that he was doing all of it by hand; Seiya always used a rolling pin.

"Sora...?"

He blinked. "Huh?"

Leon lifted an eyebrow at him in amusement as Seiya smiled. "Are you done with the limes?"

"Oh, uh, yeah almost," he rushed out and frantically finished his work. He then got up and brought the bowl to his mother. "Here."

After she took it and thanked him, he turned right into Leon. He only blushed in embarrassment for a moment though and decided to take advantage of his suddenly close proximity. As he walked around the larger man, he spread his fingers out and ran them across Leon's back.

Leon noticeably tensed and he gave Sora an intense look. The teenager smiled as he sat back down at the table. He was clearly very pleased with himself.

Seiya did not miss this interaction and giggled. When both males looked at her, however, she only continued making up the key lime mixture for the pie. "Sora, hon, do you mind cutting up the vegetables?"

"Nope," Sora was already laying out the supplies. He suddenly stopped and grinned at Leon. "Oh! Now I can show you my mad dicing skills!"

Leon paused in his flattening of crust and turned toward his younger lover with a skeptical expression. "You have mad dicing skills? You, the one who somehow managed to slice his hand open cutting a roll in half."

Seiya leaned back to look past Leon. "How did you do that?"

"It's a long story and it wasn't my fault!" Sora protested loudly. "I was distracted."

"Well then I better leave the room," Leon stated neutrally. "I was the only one around to distract you on that occasion."

Sora picked up a knife and waved it once. "Yeah, well, it was different then. We had just gotten together. I'll be totally fine now."

Leon shrugged dismissively and returned to the crust. As he finished with it, he kept a detached eye on Sora. The teen actually proved to be quite adept at cutting up vegetables. He even did a near perfect julienne cut.

Seiya took over with the crust and Leon stepped over to stand behind Sora. When the younger one finished the vegetable he was on, Leon rubbed the back of Sora's neck. Sora gave a content little sigh and leaned his head back so that bright, blue eyes gazed up at Leon.

Leon gave Sora that light, almost crooked smile. "What's next on the list, Seiya?"

The woman glanced at the couple and her own blue eyes shined happily. "Oh, you're both so cute together!"

Sora faced her, brown eyebrow lifting. There was an odd grin on his face. "Yeah, Mom, we know. We're oh-so adorable."

Seiya laughed and darted over to pat at both Sora and Leon's cheeks. "You are! I can't wait to show off all the pictures Selphie managed to nab of you."

"Pictures...?" The two asked in unison.

"Hey, Mom; we're back!" Riku's voice drifted from the hallway. He and Cloud appeared in the kitchen a moment later, holding hands. Riku grinned at the three of them as he set a small bag on the counter. "How are things here?"

"Perfect," Seiya replied, moving away from her son and his boyfriend. She smiled brightly at Riku and Cloud before peering into the bag they brought. "Oh, these are great!"

"I know how to pick out fruit," Riku noted. He quickly pointed at Sora just as the younger teen was opening his mouth. "Do not say it, Sora."

Sora chuckled into Leon's chest and the older man fought not to laugh also. He casually rubbed at Sora's back and the teen's mirth faded a bit. He seemed to be thinking about something and some of the light in his eyes dimmed.

Riku gave them both dirty looks but it held no real power to it. He caught Sora's change in attitude and glanced at Seiya. "I want to run the stuff I bought home. I'll trade you Sora for Cloud but only for an hour."

Seiya flicked her eyes at Sora for a moment. She nodded easily; "Sounds fair to me."

"Come on, Sor," Riku turned to give Cloud a quick kiss as Sora stood. The younger one did the same with Leon and the teenagers left the kitchen. They collected the bags Riku had left by the door and exited.

After walking in silence for a few minutes, Riku cast his gaze toward Sora. "You okay?"

Sora shrugged, kicking at a pebble on the street. "I guess."

Riku snorted lightly. "Get used to it, Sora. It gets harder every time."

"How do you do it, Riku?" Sora turned to walk sideways. "You and Cloud have been doing the long distance thing for over a year now. Leon and I only have a few months and it's already horrible!"

"You just…get through it," Riku tried to explain. "If you really love him, you just find a way to make it work. It kills me to be away from Cloud but I focus on the time we have together."

The brunet nodded slowly. "I guess. Sometimes I wonder why we're doing this. I mean, Leon is never going to leave Radiant Garden and me…I honestly don't know if I want to leave here."

"I wish I could help you with that, Sora."

"I know," Sora took a deep breath and snapped himself out of his mood. "Okay, I'm not gonna worry about this now. He's here now and I'm happy. That's all that matters, right?"

"...Exactly."

Sora grinned and looked ahead again. "This has been a really good week."

"Even with all the… incidents," Riku chuckled, snapping his head to move his lengthy bangs. "I still can't believe you set Leon's hair on fire."

"I can't believe Cloud fell off the dock."

Riku snorted. "Yeah, that was something."

"I really thought Leon was going to die of heat stroke that first day." Sora's laughter faded and he shook his head. "Those two are definitely not made for Island life."

"Nope," agreed Riku as they turned onto his street. "But you have to love them for trying."

"Yep."

--0—0—

When they returned to Sora's house, they were greeted by Cloud being accosted by Selphie for a picture in kitchen. He was sitting at the table where Sora had been and pointedly not looking at the girl as he finished cutting fruit into chunks. Selphie glanced up at them and grinned. "Oh, good! Riku, make Cloud take a nice picture for me!"

Riku smirked and draped his arms over the blond man's shoulders from behind. "Cloud hates having his picture taken and not even I can change that."

Cloud nodded. "He can't."

Riku placed a kiss just before Cloud's ear and pulled away. "Is everyone else here?"

"Yeah, in the backyard," Selphie replied unhappily. "Seiya went upstairs for something."

Sora angled his head and backtracked to the stairs. Riku lifted an eyebrow but neither Selphie nor Cloud seemed to have a clue what was going on. He shrugged and headed for the patio door, subtly nudging the small brunette woman.

At the sliding door he paused. "Hey, Cloud."

The blond lifted his head to look at him.

"I love you."

He smiled a bit and Selphie had the picture snapped in an instant. Cloud glared at Riku as Selphie laughed wildly and threw her arms around Riku's neck. She placed a quick kiss on him and ran out the door, waving her camera in triumph.

Riku grinned at Cloud who tried to remain angry. After a second, however, the frown broke. He did not smile again but Riku knew that Cloud was in no way upset with him. "I really do love you."

"I know."

The silvered one rolled his eyes and went outside. Leon was sitting with Kairi and Tidus in the grass. Tidus was motioning with his hands and Riku was fairly certain they were talking about swords. Wakka and Selphie were near the picnic table. Selphie was showing picture previews to the redhead.

"Hey, Ku," Tidus called over sounding a lot happier than he had in the past few days. Beside him, Kairi adjusted the small clip holding her bangs back.

Riku grabbed a can of soda and joined them in the yard, dropping down beside Leon. "What are you talking about?"

"Swords," Tidus replied. "Leon said that next time he was here, he'd bring out his Gunblade and show me some new moves."

"Oh, that'll be interesting," Riku gave the sable-haired man an amused look. "We can just have a big melee in the backyard."

"The Gunblade isn't really a sword but Leon's a good opponent," Cloud noted, settling on the grass behind Riku. He kept his legs apart and Riku wiggled back to rest between them. He nuzzled Riku's neck for a second before placing his head on the teen's shoulder and looking at Tidus. "I can show you a few things. Wakka said you got pretty good with a sword on Spira."

Tidus shrugged. "I was good enough to help save the world."

"And that's all any of us can be." Riku took a drink and handed the can off to Cloud. "That's what got me through the whole mess."

Cloud kissed his cheek from the side. He did not say anything but laced his fingers with Riku's. Kairi grinned at them and stood up, going to join Selphie and Wakka. Tidus took back up the earlier conversation with Leon and Cloud occasionally added his own comments.

Several minutes passed before they all turned at the sound of Sora and Seiya's voices. The mother and son were setting food out on the picnic table. Though both were smiling there was a hint of sadness to them.

Riku exchanged quick looks with Cloud and Leon. They along with Tidus noticed this subtle change in the other two's attitudes and all frowned a bit. Leon climbed to his feet first and headed across the yard to help.

Tidus watched him a moment as Leon met up with Sora and brushed the teen's cheek with the back of his hand. Sora gave him a tight hug in return before they went in the house. He flicked his blue eyes at Riku and Cloud and gave them a weak smile while getting up. "I don't envy you guys tomorrow."

Riku sighed and nuzzled against Cloud. "Gee, thanks."

The couple stood and left the grass, joining the others. Seiya brightened considerably and urged everyone to start eating. Leon and Sora returned about ten minutes later, Sora looking a bit disheveled. He was also a lot happier.

Sora, Selphie, Seiya and Tidus kept up conversation, often getting Riku, Kairi and Leon involved. Wakka and Cloud would snort at various comments and occasionally add one or two sentences of their own but seemed more content to simply listen on. There was a very natural feel to the evening.

As people had their fill to eat, Kairi placed an elbow on the table, resting her chin on her palm and glanced around. Her gaze stopped on Cloud and Leon. "You know, the two of you have only been here a week but you fit right into the group."

"Yeah," Selphie agreed, a small frown tugging at her lips. "I'm really sad you have to leave."

"Oh, they'll be back soon enough," Seiya waved a hand. It was obvious she was simply trying to keep the discussion light. "Leon still has to take Sora's virginity."

"Mom!" Sora dropped his head on the table. "I thought we were done with that talk!"

"I don't think that's going to happen until you get fucked into the mattress, Sor," Riku chuckled, leaning against Cloud who idly rubbed at his back.

"Do you guys have any idea how weird it is to hear you talk about sex this openly?" Tidus remarked. "And on top of that, not care?"

"Ya, man," Wakka shook his head. "You all have been a bad influence, ya."

"I think it's awesome!" Selphie clapped her hands. Suddenly she shot up, nearly toppling Tidus and Kairi in the process. "Oh! Your presents!"

"Do I want to know?" Leon sighed, glancing at Kairi.

The auburn-haired young woman smiled. "For once, I think Selphie has the perfect gift."

Selphie bolted back out of the house, skiddering to a halt behind Riku. She giggled as she handed out the thin ,brightly wrapped packages in her hands. "Yellow for Ku, Blue for Cloud, Green for Leon and Red for Sora!"

Riku studied the item that had been placed in his hands. "Why are Sora and I getting presents?"

"You'll see!" She skipped around the table and resumed her seat between Tidus and Kairi. "Hurry up and open them!"

The four exchanged looks and began tearing off the paper. Sora ripped into his first and once he saw what it was his lower lip trembled. "Oh, you didn't…"

Selphie nodded excitedly. "Took me all night!"

"What exactly is it?" Leon asked, looking over the black rectangle. He flipped it over and found a picture of himself and Sora that he had been completely unaware of having been taken.

"It's a digital picture frame," Riku explained. He bit his lip as he tapped a button on the corner of his. "You download pictures into it and can set it to flip through them."

"Yep," Selphie was clearly very pleased with herself. "Me and Kairi have been taking pictures during your whole trip. Tidus and Wakka helped up pick out the good ones and the frames."

Cloud was looking through his, a half-smile tugging at his lips. "This is…"

"Great," Leon concluded.

Both men looked at the four teenagers across from them. "Thank you."

Tidus and Wakka waved it off but both Kairi and Selphie were all smiles. Seiya leaned over to look through Sora's with him. A lot of Sora and Leon's were the same as were Riku and Cloud's. The only differences were who the individual pictures were of.

"Well, guys," Seiya ruffled at Sora's hair. "It's starting to get dark and I know you have other things you want to be doing tonight."

"Yeah," Riku handed his frame to Cloud as he stood. "We should help you clean up."

"No, Selphie, Kairi, Tidus and Wakka have already volunteered for that," Seiya countered. "The four of you go spend some alone time. And don't even try to argue, Leon."

Sora snorted. "You didn't call him 'dear'."

"Well, it wasn't appropriate for the moment, Sora," Seiya chastised him mildly. She swatted at his arm and laughed. "Now the four of you get out of here and don't forget I'm making brunch since I know two of you won't be getting out of bed until late morning."

"Why is everyone convinced we're total sex fiends?" Riku looked at Cloud in bemusement.

Seiya giggled. "Did I say you?"

Sora's eyes got wide and Leon snickered. "Yeah, he has a severe dislike of getting out of bed in the morning."

Sora pouted and hit Leon's arm. The older man simply took hold of his arm and stood, taking Sora with him. "All right, let's get out of here before they change their minds."

"Right behind you," Cloud got up joined Riku, slipping his arm around the silver-haired male's waist. The two couples bid the others good-bye, promising to see them in the morning before they left and again thinking them for their gifts.

They then cut through the house to the street and began the walk to Riku's house.


	20. Chapter 20

Here it is, guys: the LAST chapter! Finally. This story has gone completely away from the original purpose but hey, it worked. I'm actually very relieved it's over and do not ask for a sequel... not gonna happen.

Reminder: I did NOT create Seiya, she is the brainchild of Uzimaki-sama and I am grateful she has allowed me to use my own take on her. Thank you again.

I have to again thank Tifa and Sassy for dealing with me as I plowed through this story and supporting me. I love you guys.

Oh, I still don't own these people, damn it.

* * *

The night had been exactly as both couples expected. Riku and Cloud were on each other almost the moment they were in the front door. Leon and Sora had done their best to ignore them as they muttered hasty good-nights and stumbled upstairs, tugging each other's clothes off.

Deciding that they did not want to be forced to listen to the other two until necessary, Sora had switched on the radio and the other couple had curled up together on the couch. Sora kept unusually quiet, simply laying his head against Leon's shoulder. Leon only gently ran his fingers through his hair.

They ended up falling asleep there. When Sora next opened his eyes, it was still dark out but there was that stillness to the air that only came with the very early morning. He lifted his head a bit and studied Leon's sleeping face.

He cautiously reached up and brushed at a patch of lengthy bangs on the man's forehead. Sora was not sure what he was going to do when Leon left. He felt rather foolish for getting into what he knew was going to be a long-distance relationship. As least with Riku and Cloud, they had not known what their future was going to be if they even had one.

With a sigh, Sora traced his finger lightly over the scar that cut across his boyfriend's face. Leon stirred a little in reaction and grey eyes cracked open. Sora smiled at him a bit sheepishly, "Sorry."

Leon grunted quietly and shifted his body. "What time is it?"

"Dunno," Sora moved so that Leon could sit up. "But it's still dark. We should probably go to bed."

Leon nodded once in agreement. "I think it'll be safe now."

Sora chuckled, standing up. "With those two, who knows?"

"Very true," Leon also got to his feet, groaning softly. "I'm getting old."

"No, you aren't," Sora chastised him. "No one sleeps well on a couch, especially with someone on top of them. I hate when you bring up age."

"It's not the years, Sora, it's the mileage."

Sora smirked at him. "You did not just quote Indiana Jones to me."

Leon took Sora's hand and led him upstairs. "I would never do something like that. Totally out of character."

The teen laughed, allowing himself to be taken up to bed. He would worry about what happened in the morning later. For now he would just enjoy one more night of sleeping in his boyfriend's arms.

--0—0—

Riku stirred a little, feeling warm sunlight on his back. He could tell he had only been asleep for a few hours. He spent a minute debating if he wanted drift back to sleep or give up and open his eyes.

Beside him, Cloud made a noise and Riku reluctantly cracked open an eye. Nearly ethereal blue gazed down at him and he smiled lightly. "Did you even sleep?"

"Dozed," Cloud answered, taking the opportunity to stroke the back of his fingers along Riku's bare chest. "Leon and Sora came up shortly after you fell asleep."

"Oh yeah?" The younger half of the couple bit his lip. "They have good timing."

Cloud nodded, grinning at the faint shudder that went through Riku's body. He trailed his fingertips back up Riku's chest and along his shoulder. "I wonder what time it is."

Riku shrugged minutely. "Judging by the light coming in I'd say about eight."

"When are we supposed to go to Sora's?"

"Dunno," Riku shifted around, sitting up a little on the pillows. He reached over and pulled Cloud to him. Once the blond was lying beside him he snuggled up into his chest and sighed. "Don't really care right now."

Chuckling lightly, Cloud wrapped his arms around him and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he drifted to sleep and Riku lifted his head. He watched Cloud for several moments, imprinting every line, every plane of smooth skin, to his memory.

Fighting back the wave of depression that was threatening to wash over him, he brought his ear back to Cloud's chest. In a few hours, Cloud would have to leave but for now he was here and that was what Riku focused on. He listened to the steady beat of the man's heart and let it lull him back to sleep.

--0—0—

Soft lips kissed his temple and Sora smiled sleepily. "Morning."

Leon brushed a stray spike from the youth's forehead. He did not say anything but gazed down warmly at Sora. The teen snuggled into his side and he brought his arm up to hold Sora close.

"Do you really have to go?" Sora murmured rhetorically. They both knew the answer to the question.

Leon ran his hand along Sora's slightly exposed hip. Blue eyes flicked up at him and he bent a bit to kiss Sora deeply. Sora brought his hand to thread his fingers through Leon's lengthy hair and sighed contently into the kiss.

When Leon pulled away, Sora sighed again only this time is was in defeat. "I guess we can't hold off the inevitable, huh?"

"Unfortunately," Leon agreed, not sounding any happier about the statement. "If we don't get up, Cloud and Riku never will and then your mother will be pissed because we didn't make it over before leaving."

"Ugh, don't say that evil word!" Sora sat up. The sheet pooled around his waist as he stretched. "I don't want to think about that until I absolutely have to."

Leon chuckled lightly. "Fine but we still need to get up. Seiya will have our heads if we don't get over there with enough time to talk for awhile."

"Yeah," the younger one grumbled, throwing the sheet back and climbing out of bed. He groaned and twisted his neck. "I need a shower."

Leon angled his head a moment as if considering something. He then got up himself, ruffling his shaggy hair. "What time is it?"

"Um…" Sora glanced around for the clock. "Almost ten."

Nodding, Leon walked toward the door. He instructed Sora to wait there and went out into the hallway. Going over to Riku's bedroom door, he rapped on it twice and announced loudly, "You two have until Sora and I get out of the shower to get up and dressed."

There was a muted shout of _have fun_ from the room and Leon returned. Sora was staring at him, not believing what he just heard. Leon only smirked and crossed the room to him. Taking hold of the younger brunet's hand, he led him toward the bathroom.

"Uh, Leon?" Sora questioned, hesitating in the doorway when Leon released his hand and moved to the shower.

Leon turned on the water and played with temperature until he was satisfied with it. He then glanced over his shoulder and began removing his sleep pants. "Well?"

"Uh…well…" Sora sputtered, not sure how to react to this turn of events. The idea of taking a shower with Leon…both naked and wet….

"Hey, you don't have to if you don't want to," Leon shrugged, now fully unclothed. He stepped into the spray of water, hair quickly matting down. "I was just going to wash your hair for you."

Sora tilted his head and bit his lip. All he could do was stare as Leon reached up to begin washing his own hair, water and soapy suds coursing down his shoulders and muscled chest…along his hips toward his… Sora's breath hitched as he suddenly got really warm and his groin stirred.

He took a cautious step closer, his eyes fixed upon his boyfriend's toned body. He really wanted to reach out and touch it. Slowly he began to move his hand, but paused. He wanted something but he was not sure…

Leon rinsed out his hair and fixed his grey eyes on the teen. There was something lusty to his gaze but it was not quite the burning, intense one Sora had seen a few nights before. The man held out his hand. "Come here."

Quite automatically, Sora did so. He stopped just outside the shower, close enough for little specks of water that bounced off of Leon's slightly reddened skin hit him. He never broke his eye contact, not even when Leon fully turned toward him.

"Do you trust me?" The words were soft, nearly whispered. Sora nodded slowly, feeling absolutely safe. Leon smiled slightly. "Okay, take 'em off."

Sora worried his lower lip shyly but brought his hands to the waist of his boxers and after a second of hesitation, pushed the clothing off. He angled his head down, shyly kicking them off his ankles. He was afraid to see Leon's reaction to him.

Two fingers lifted his chin back up and he met Leon's eyes again. The older man lifted an eyebrow at him. "What did I tell you before?"

"Sorry," Sora murmured. "It's just hard for me to believe…"

Chuckling lightly, Leon pulled Sora into the shower. He pressed the slightly smaller body to him. "Does my body indicate that I am at all turned off by you?"

No, it did not, Sora had to admit. In fact it spoke quite the opposite. "Leon…"

The man hushed him with two fingers to his lips. "Don't worry, Sora. I don't want anything from you."

"Then what…?"

Leon bent down, bringing Sora's face up and kissing him intently. Sora's body relaxed into him, urgently retuning the kiss and running his hands up his boyfriend's chest. Intense energy coursed through him and he wanted more…

Leon moved his lips along Sora's jaw and lingered on his neck a bit. He listened to Sora's breath change as he made little sighs and whimpers. The sounds the boy made alone were enough to send him in a tizzy but he restrained himself. This was not about him.

Sora's breath hitched and his fingertips dug into Leon's chest. Taking this as a sign, the sable-haired man cautiously run a hand down the front of Sora's lean muscled chest and past his bellybutton. He swept it slightly to the side to brush his hip.

Pulling only slightly away, Leon flicked his eyes down to see for himself how ready Sora was. The teen's erection was full-on, angling stiffly up and to the side. Sora himself had his head against Leon's shoulder and was tightly gripping the sides of his waist.

With one hand on Sora's waist, he allowed the other to move in. He touched the tip of Sora's penis and Sora lurched into him, gasping. He held onto the boy's body as he delicately wrapped his fingers fully around it and made a couple of slow strokes.

Sora thought he was going to die. While he had fantasized about what it would feel like to have Leon's hands on him so intimately, it in no way compared to the reality of it. In the back of his mind, he was aware that he was digging his nails into Leon's skin but did not care.

Keeping Sora upright, Leon continued his ministrations, taking in every little moan, gasp, sound that his boyfriend made. He gradually sped up his movement as Sora's body began demanding more. Listening to Sora and watching the expressions that flitted across his face was a greater euphoria than anything.

Sora was practically twitching now, scratching at Leon and steadily moaning as something within him grew. Tension was stirring throughout his lower body, coiling and twisting, demanding to be released. When Leon abruptly changed his grip on him, the tension burst and Sora cried out, cumming into the older man's hand.

He fell heavily against Leon's body, gasping for breath. His body felt limp and completely satisfied. The only thing keeping him up was Leon's arms wrapped around him.

"You okay?" Leon softly asked, rinsing off his hand in the shower spray before bringing it up to ran it along the back of Sora's head.

The youth nodded numbly, breathing returning to normal. Feeling stronger, he lifted his head to glance up at his boyfriend. There was an uncertain look to his face. "What about you?"

"I'm fine," Leon smiled. "Don't worry."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Leon kissed his forehead. "Now we better really clean up."

Sora grinned and hugged Leon fiercely. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied. "Now move back so I can actually wash your hair."

--0—0—

Riku stared up at the ceiling, chest slowly falling back into a normal rate. Cloud's legs were still tangled with his as the man lay on his side next to him. He flicked his eyes over and chuckled. "You think they're actually doing anything?"

"Maybe," Cloud brushed some of Riku's bangs from his eyes. "It doesn't really matter either way so long as they're happy."

"True," the silvered teen smiled. There was a sad quality to it. "It's not how you use the time if just that you spend it together."

"Exactly," Cloud bent down and kissed him lightly. "And if we don't get up now, Seiya will never let us hear the end of it."

Laughing softly, Riku sat up. "You guys figured her out pretty fast," he glanced over his messy bed sheets. "Get up."

Cloud did as ordered, sliding off the bed. "I'm really glad you have her. I was really worried about you after…"

Riku left his own bed and promptly pulled the sheets off. "I worried about me, too. A lot of bad things happened all in a row but Seiya was right there for me. Between her, Sora and you I got through."

"Have you always lived in this house?" Cloud walked around the bed. He hastily threw the few things he had out into his travel bag.

"We moved here when I was ten," the teen explained, tossing the sheets in the hamper and searching the floor for his discarded boxers from the night before. "Why?"

The blond stopped near the window. "I like this house. It kinda reminds me of the one I grew up in."

Riku paused, his lips tugging down a bit. He had no idea where Cloud was going with this but he knew there was a point. His lover did not talk idly.

Blowing out a breath, Cloud turned back toward Riku. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, that even if you decide to not stay here, I think you should keep this place and if you want to stay, well, I could easily see myself living here."

Grinning, Riku walked up to him and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Maybe we could do one of those half-year deals. Live in Radiant Garden for the summer, here in the winter."

"Whatever you want, Ku," Cloud placed his own hands on the teen's narrow hips.

Their moment was interrupted by a bang on the door. "We're out."

"Well, Leon didn't get any," Riku snorted, pulling away. He slipped on his boxers from last night as Cloud did the same.

The blond snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised if Leon was still a tight ass even if he did get laid."

"True," Riku located a fresh set of clothes and waited for Cloud to do the same. Once both were ready, they left the room and headed for a quick shower themselves.

Upon finally coming downstairs, the couple found the other two on the couch. Sora was curled up into Leon's side with the man's arm around him and casually stroking his hip. Both seemed quite content.

"Well, something happened," Riku noted as he rounded the sofa and got a good look at Sora's face. "I've never seen that expression on Sor's face before."

Sora stuck out his tongue but a little half-smile tugged at his lips. Riku smirked back, silently telling his friend that he expected details later. Sora barely moved his head in response.

"Are we ready to head out?" Cloud asked softly, hefting the bag on his shoulder.

Sora pouted and reluctantly got up. "Unfortunately. Mom's waiting for us."

Leon followed him up, collecting his own bag from near the door. He led the group out, Sora and Cloud behind him and Riku locking up. Out on the street, the couples walked in pairs, holding hands and ignoring any looks that might have come their way. None of them cared anymore.

Seiya was busy in the kitchen when they arrived. She stopped as soon as they entered the small eating area and threw her arms around first Leon then Cloud. "Oh, I wish you two didn't have to go!"

"Same here, Seiya," Leon concurred, stepping away to look over everything she was making. "You know, you cook enough for a small army."

The woman shrugged dismissively. "I like doing it and I always have something ready for unexpected company. Plus with the way some of these boys eat…"

"What's ready?" Sora bounded over to the counter. "I'm starving!"

Riku snorted. "Yeah, you had a busy morning."

Seiya gave her son a look before turning on Leon. The man merely lifted an eyebrow at her and she chuckled. "Well, it's none of business but whatever it is, it took you long enough."

Cloud had decided to stay out of the way and simply sat at the table. Riku gathered up two plates of food and brought them over, scooting his chair close enough so that their legs were touching. He gave the blond a quick kiss before diving into his beignets.

Sora and Leon soon followed, Leon helping Seiya finish up the omelet she was on before getting his own plate of food. The two couples sat close together and when Seiya shut off the stove and came over herself, she smiled happily at all of them. She took a seat across from them, propping her chin on her hand.

"When do you think you'll be able to make it back?" She asked with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Honestly?" Leon frowned. "I have no idea. There's still a lot of work to get done back home."

Seiya nodded, pushing her bangs back. "Well, hopefully it will be soon. And of course, the boys can go there whenever they're off from school."

Something in Riku's expression changed but Seiya was the only one to see it. She sent him a knowing look but did not draw attention to it. She had a very strong feeling that in a few months, Riku was going to have to make a big decision and she was fairly certain of the outcome of that decision.

Her son, however…. She had no idea what was going to come of that relationship. It was still too new to really tell and though she could see how much Sora loved Leon and how fond Leon was of him, a lot could happen in a year.

Sora had started talking about going to Radiant Garden over Spring Break. Riku nodded his agreement, head now resting on Cloud's shoulder as the man threaded his fingers through his hair. Leon shrugged that it sounded like a good idea to him and Sora beamed, hugging the man tightly.

After another minute, Leon made a noise and glanced at Sora. "I hate being the responsible one but we need to get going."

"Yeah," Cloud seconded softly, blue eyes clearly not happy about it. Riku kissed his shoulder and pulled away.

Sora bit his lip and his eyes got a little shiny but he nodded and stood, clearing his and Leon's dishes. Riku did the same with his own and Cloud's. As the two handled that, the older members of the couples stepped away from the table. They moved down the short hall to the small foyer where their bags had been set and there was a bit more room.

Seiya followed them, brushing at the back of Leon's shirt. "I'm sure you'll call when you get in tonight, right?"

"Yes, Mom," Cloud muttered, a faint grin tugging at his lips. She slapped at his arm, giggling.

"All right," Riku's voice came from behind them. "Stop abusing my man."

He and Sora joined the little group and Leon and Cloud retrieved their bags. Once those were collected, Seiya herded them out the front door. She gave both men another hug and remained on the front step as the males headed for the street. They all bid their goodbyes, Riku telling her that Kairi wanted them to come over after Leon and Cloud left.

They walked down the street, again paired up. They kept quiet for the most part and upon entering the wharf, felt their moods darken considerably. Josie from the crab shack met up with them on the street and she bid them farewell, saying that they were welcome back anytime and warning Cloud to watch out for shellfish with a wink.

At the dock where the boats were tied up, Tidus and Wakka were waiting. No one had been expecting them and Sora angled his head curiously. "What are you two doing out here?"

"Making sure you two are going to be okay," Tidus shrugged. "We know what it's like to have to leave."

That was when Sora teared up a little. He buried his face in Leon's shoulder who automatically rubbed his back. Riku bit his lip but only nodded. "Thanks, guys."

"Whatever, mon," Wakka waved it off. "We're not gonna go out there but we'll be here when you get back, ya."

Tidus smiled at Cloud and Leon. "We'll let you know when we can take that trip."

"We'll do what we can to make it happen," Leon assured them.

"Come on," Riku's voice actually broke on the words. "We don't want to drag this out any more than we have."

"Yeah," agreed Sora, pulling himself together. He moved away from Leon and he and Riku got the boats ready.

Leon and Cloud chatted a bit with Tidus and Wakka as they did. When the boats were ready, they said goodbye and climbed in after their respective boyfriends. To the teenagers' surprise, both of the older men insisted on rowing.

A fourth of the way out, Sora again began getting upset. His lower lip trembled and tears again pricked at his eyes. Leon frowned at him and managed a brief, reassuring smile. "It's okay, Sora."

"I don't know how Riku and Cloud can do this all the time," the spiky-haired youth muttered. "It hurts so much."

"You do what you have to," Leon spoke softly. They were slightly behind the other boat and Leon could see that Riku and Cloud were having a rather serious discussion. "It isn't any easier for them."

"I know," Sora sighed. He reached over and placed his hand on Leon's knee. "Think we'll ever be like them?"

Leon smiled. "Time will tell but for now, we just let things play out as they will."

Sora grinned, tears still there but looking much less depressed. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the other two talking. He frowned a little again and wondered what they were talking about. Riku's expression was a mix of joy and apprehension.

They approached the far side of the play island and landed the rowboats. Climbing out, Sora caught Riku's eye and lifted an eyebrow in query. The silvered teen gently shook his head and said he would explain later.

The four walked over to the partially hidden Gummi ship and Cloud opened it up. Riku followed him inside, taking Leon's bag from him. Leon and Sora lingered on the sand for a few minutes. Once Cloud stashed the bags and started the pre-flight, he turned back to Riku and draped his arms over his young lover's shoulders.

Riku smiled weakly and pressed their foreheads together. "I miss you already."

"Yeah, but it won't be too long," Cloud lifted Riku's chin to kiss him lightly. "You'll think about what I offered, right?"

"Yeah," Riku pressed his body against Cloud's and held him tightly. Cloud stroked his hair a few times before moving back enough to thoroughly kiss him.

There was a faint buzz and they pulled apart. "The ship's ready…"

"Yeah," Riku nodded. He placed one more kiss upon his lover's lips. "I'll send Leon in."

Cloud brushed his cheek. Okay. I love you."

"I love you," Riku repeated then resolutely turned away. His chest felt heavy and his emotions threatened to overtake him but he held it together.

Outside the ship, Leon had Sora wrapped up in his arms and was quietly murmuring to him. He caught Riku's eye and gently kissed near Sora's ear. "I've got to go."

"I know," Sora choked out, pulling away and wiping at his eyes.

"I'll see you soon," Leon stated easily, moving his thumb along the smaller male's jaw line.

Sora nodded numbly. "Yeah."

"Hey," Leon nudged him with a smirk. "We've gotta come back so we can pick on Cloud some more."

Sora laughed, smiling. Riku rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. "Yes, I know, my boyfriend is a klutz when it comes to everything but killing Sephiroth."

"Okay," Sora moved away from Leon to stand beside Riku. "Get going before I start begging you to stay."

Leon nodded and headed for the door. He paused and waved once before finally ducking in and sealing the hatchway. The two outside stepped clear from the ship and after a minute, the engines revved up and the ship began lifting off.

Riku and Sora watched as the ship rose up and began its steady climb into the sky. Sora took a deep breath and Riku threw his arm around his shoulders. The ship eventually disappeared and the pair remained quiet for a minute.

"That was hard," Sora whispered. "But I don't feel as sad as I thought I would."

"That's because you know you'll see him again," Riku turned him around to head back to the boats. "It just may be awhile."

"Yeah," Sora agreed. They walked a few feet and Sora glanced over. "So what were you and Cloud talking about? It looked intense."

"Yeah," Riku grinned. "He wants to come live here until I graduate."

Sora's jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

Riku nodded. "After that, we'd have to decide what we're going to do but…"

Sora laughed loudly. "Man, can you imagine Cloud living here? The hospital would be on a first name basis with him within two weeks!"

The older teen chuckled. "I still can't believe he managed to fall off the wharf _and_ get stung by a jellyfish."

"I'm still amazed Leon was stubborn enough to get heat stroke rather than admit wearing leather pants on an island is a bad idea."

Riku grinned widely. "Yeah, I don't know what we're going to do with those two."

Sighing, Sora simply said. "Deal with them."

"Yeah," Riku agreed.

They reached the boats and pushed them off the sand. Climbing in, they began the row back to the main island, matching pace. They spend the entire trip laughing at all the stupid things their boyfriends had done while there.

By the time they made it back to the dock, they both agreed they could not wait to see what happened next time Leon and Cloud visited.


End file.
